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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Sfctloa  ^Sl^/ 


Series  of  igo8-g 

THE  HALE  LECTURES 

WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

CHICAGO.  ILL. 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


/ 

THE  HALE  LECTURES.  1908-9 

MUSIC 
IN  THE  CHURCH 


BY    ^ 

PETER  CHRISTIAN  LUTKIN,  Mus.Doc. 

Dean  of  the  School  of  Music 
Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  Illinois. 


MILWAUKEE 
THE  YOUNG  CHURCHMAN  COMPANY 

igio 


copyright  by 

The  Young  Churchman  Co. 

1910 


EXTRACTS 

From  the  Will  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Reuben 
Hale,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  Coadjutor  of  Spring- 
field, horn  1837;  consecrated  July  26,  1892; 
died  December  25,  1900. 


* 


In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.    Amen. 


I,  Chables  Reuben  Hale,  Bishop  of  Caibo,  Bishop 
CoADJUTOB  OF  Spbixgfield,  of  the  City  of  Cairo,  Illinois, 
do  make,  publish,  and  declare  this,  as  and  for  my  Last 
Will  and  Testament,  hereby  revoking  all  former  wills 
by  me  made. 

First.  First  of  all,  I  commit  myself,  soul  and  body, 
into  the  hands  of  Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord  and  Saviour,  in 
Whose  Merits  alone  I  trust,  looking  for  the  Resurrection 
of  the  Body  and  the  Life  of  the  World  to  come. 

Fourteenth.  All  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  Estate, 
personal  and  real,  not  in  this  my  Will  otherwise  spe- 
cifically devised,  wheresoever  situate,  and  whether  legal 
or  equitable,  I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  "The  West- 
ebn  Theological  Seminaby,  Chicago,  Illinois,"  above 
mentioned,  but  nevertheless  In  Trust,  provided  it  shall 
accept  the  trust  by  an  instrimient  in  writing  so  stat- 
ing, filed  with  this  Will  in  the  Court  where  probated, 
within  six  months  after  the  probate  of  this  Will — for 
the  general  purpose  of  promoting  the  Catholic  Faith, 
in  its  purity  and  integrity,  as  taught  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, held  by  the  Primitive  Church,  summed  up  in  the 


vi  EXTRACTS 

Creeds  and  affirmed  by  the  undisputed  General  Councils, 
and,  in  particular,  to  be  used  only  and  exclusively  for 
the  purposes  following,  to-wit: — 

(2)  The  establishment,  endowment,  publication,  and 
due  circulation  of  Courses  of  Lectures,  to  be  delivered 
annually  forever,  to  be  called  "The  Hale  Lectures." 

The  Lectures  shall  treat  of  one  of  the  following 
subjects : 

(a)   Liturgies  and  Liturgies. 

(6)   Church  Hymns  and  Church  Music. 

(c)  The  History  of  the  Eastern  Churches. 

(d)  The  History  of  National  Churches. 

(e)  Contemporaneous  Church  History:  i.e.,  treat- 
ing of  events  happening  since  the  beginning 
of  what  is  called  "The  Oxford  Movement," 
in  1833. 

It  is  the  aim  of  the  Seminary,  through  the  Hale 
Lectures,  to  make  from  time  to  time  some  valuable 
contributions  to  certain  of  the  Church's  problems, 
without  thereby  committing  itself  to  agreement  with 
the  utterances  of  its  own  selected  Preachers. 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

SOMETIME    CANON    OF   THE    CATHEDRAL    OF    SB.    PETER    AITO 

PAUL  OF  THE  DIOCESE   OF   CHICAGO,   THESE  PAGES 

ARE    AFFECTIONATELY    INSCRIBED. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Author's  Preface xi 

I. — Hymn  Tunes 1 

II. — Congregational  Singing 54 

III.— The  Organ 101 

ly. — The  Organist  and  Choirmaster   .     .     .  148 

V. — The  Vested  Male  Choir 184 

VI. — The    Development    of    Music    in    the 

Anglican  Church 220 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

Bishop  Anderson^  when  honoring  the  under- 
signed with  the  appointment  of  Hale  Lecturer  for 
1908-1909,  expressed  the  wish  that  the  lectures 
might  be  made  as  practical  as  possible.  Every 
effort  has  been  made  to  comply  with  this  request, 
and  as  a  consequence,  technicalities  and  discussions 
which  would  only  interest  the  professional  musician 
have  been  avoided. 

The  general  plan  of  the  lectures  (which  are 
printed  as  delivered)  is  two-fold:  in  the  first  place 
to  set  before  the  interested  reader,  be  he  clergyman 
or  layman,  a  concise  history  of  the  various  subjects, 
in  order  that  he  may  arrive  at  an  intelligent  com- 
prehension of  the  situation  as  a  whole ;  in  the  second 
place  to  give  practical  suggestions  bearing  upon 
conditions  as  they  exist  in  the  average  church  or 
parish  of  to-day. 

The  writer  is  greatly  indebted  to  the  files  of  that 
invaluable  journal  for  the  Church  musician,  the 
"New  Music  Review"  (published  by  the  H.  W.  Gray 
Co.,  New  York),  for  much  detailed  information  and 
many  pertinent  suggestions. 

Since  these  lectures  were  put  in  type  an  histori- 
cal edition  of  "Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern"  has  ap- 
peared. This  book  contains,  in  addition  to  the 
hymns  and  tunes,  a  history  of  the  words  and  music 
in  each  instance,  giving  their  sources  and  the  origi- 


xii  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

nal  text  in  case  of  translations.  The  work  is  truly 
monumental  in  character  and  indispensable  to  the 
true  hymn  lover.  A  most  valuable  book,  but  con- 
cerning tunes  only,  is  Cowan  &  Love's  "The  Music 
of  the  Church  Hymnary  and  the  Psalter  in  Metre." 
The  Bibliography  at  the  end  of  this  book,  al- 
though far  from  complete,  endeavors  to  give  works 
covering  all  phases  of  Church  music. 


NOTE 

The  numbers  in  parentheses,  under  the  hymn  titles 
in  the  margin,  refer  to  the  hymn  numbers  in  the  author- 
ized editions  of  the  Church  Hymnal. 


Hymn  Tunes. 

A  CONSIDERATION  of  the  relative  import- 
ance of  Lymn  and  tune  opens  a  very  wide  field 
for  discussion,  but  as  far  as  the  general  public  Tunes,  their 

'  ,     ,  ,    ^  .     T  ,  ,       importance. 

IS  concerned  the  tune  holds  indisputably 
the  supremacy.  Many  a  hymn  of  mediocre 
merit  has  been  sung  into  fame  and  widespread 
use  through  the  compelling  power  of  the  tune, 
while  many  a  worthy  hymn  has  been  unable  to 
survive  inadequate  musical  expression.  The 
tune,  therefore,  becomes  of  vital  practical 
importance  and  it  possesses  qualities  peculiar 
to  itself  which  no  other  agency  can  either  dis- 
place or  duplicate.  It  is  the  one  channel 
through  which  we  can  collectively  voice  our 
offerings  of  prayer  and  praise  to  Almighty 
God,  the  one  medium  by  which  all  can  unite 
in  an  inspiring  act  of  worship,  and  the  only 
means  by  which  the  people  as  a  whole  can  be 
swayed  by  a  single  emotion  or  uplifted  by  a 
common  impulse. 

The  tunes  that   are  chosen  for  these  high 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Choice 
of  tunes. 


Superiority 
of  Anglican 
tunes. 


purposes  should  receive  serious  consideration. 
It  is  not  sufficient  that  they  appeal  to  man,  they 
must  also  be  worthy  of  presentation  to  God. 
The  question  thus  transfers  itself  to  a  higher 
plane  than  the  mere  pleasing  of  the  individual 
taste.  Fundamental  worth,  artistic  merit,  his- 
toric association,  fitness  as  to  time  and  place, 
practicability,  are  all  factors  which  should  be 
given  due  consideration  in  the  selection  of 
tunes.  The  important  part  hymn-singing  has 
played  in  the  development  and  propagation  of 
the  Christian  religion  should  be  told  to  laymen. 
Interest  would  surely  be  awakened  by  telling 
them  of  the  historic  value  and  associations  of 
certain  tunes,  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact 
that  hymn-singing  offers  a  common  ground  of 
unity  even  among  the  most  antagonistic  of 
Christian  bodies.  Moreover  a  precious  bond  of 
union  with  the  past  exists  in  those  ancient  melo- 
dies that  were  sung  by  the  early  Christians, 
melodies  which  are  still  in  existence  and  are 
in  use  to-day  in  certain  of  our  churches.  The 
plainsong  of  the  early  Church,  the  chorales  of 
the  Lutherans,  the  psalm-singing  of  the  Calvin- 
ists,  and  the  development  of  hymnology  in  our 
own  communion  are  all  subjects  of  absorbing 
interest. 

While  we  are  indebted  to  our  dissenting 
brethren  in  no  small  measure  for  the  practice 
of  hymn-singing  in  its  modern  sense,  and  also 


HYMN  TUNES  3 

for  many  of  our  most  beloved  hymns,  it  is  a 
notorious  fact  that  with  all  their  zeal  for  con- 
gregational singing  no  hymn  tune  composer  of 
preeminence  has  ever  sprung  from  the  sectarian 
ranks.  For  nearly  four  centuries  the  Anglican 
Church  has  supplied  English-speaking  Chris- 
tendom with  its  best  tunes,  tunes  that  are  uni- 
versally conceded  to  be  models  of  their  type. 
Their  only  rivals  are  the  Lutheran  chorales,  but 
Lutheran  hymnody  is  a  thing  of  the  past 
while  the  Anglican  Church  is  to-day  at  its 
fullest  and  ripest  period  of  musical  expression. 

We  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  ^^^^^:.,,, 

^  ^  sponsibility. 

America  are  heirs  to  a  rich  heritage  of  hymn 
music  and  we  share  in  the  musical  glory  of  our 
mother  Church.  Our  hymnals  are  looked  upon 
as  models  by  other  Christian  bodies,  and  each 
denominational  hymn  book  as  it  appears  draws 
more  and  more  largely  from  our  pages.  We 
occupy  a  responsible  position  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Church  music  in  this  country,  and  it 
behooves  us  to  maintain  our  high  standards  and 
to  make  no  concessions  to  the  musical  fads  and 
fancies  of  the  hour.  But  we  do  not  all  realize 
our  high  calling  nor  appreciate  the  stores  of 
treasures  that  we  have  to  draw  from.  Educa- 
tion is  needed  all  along  the  line ;  education  for 
the  layman,  for  the  organist,  for  the  choirmas- 
ter, for  the  theological  student,  and,  I  fear,  for 
the  three  orders  of  the  ministry. 


4  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

Scope  of  It  is  the  obiect  of  this  lecture  to  consider  and 

lecture.  •'    . 

discuss  the  musical  material  in  our  hymnals; 
to  classify  the  better  tunes ;  to  give  their  sources 
together  with  a  more  or  less  critical  estimate 
of  their  worth;  and  to  explain  their  position 
in  the  evolution  of  hymn-singing.  They  will 
be  considered  in  the  following  order : 

I.  Plainsong  Melodies. 

II.  German  Chorales. 

III.  Early  English  Tunes. 

IV.  Modern  English  Tunes. 

V.  American  Tunes. 

I.       PLAINSONG    MELODIES. 

Origin  of  The  Origin  of  plainsong  or  plain  chant  melo- 

dies is  a  matter  of  uncertainty.  By  some  they 
are  thought  to  be  descended  from  the  music  of 
the  Jewish  Temple,  and  by  others  to  be  founded 
upon  the  musical  system  of  the  Greeks.  In  any 
event  they  present  features  utterly  foreign  to 
our  modern  scales  and  harmonic  systems,  and 
have  such  striking  peculiarities  that  even  the 
inexperienced  readily  recognize  them.  It  is 
more  than  probable  that  the  first  Christians 
borrowed  both  music  and  liturgy  from  the  Jew- 
ish synagogue,  but  as  there  is  absolutely  no  au- 
thentic trace  left  of  the  music  of  the  Jews  it  is 
impossible  to  verify  the  matter.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  only  since  the  tenth  century 


HYMN  TUNES  5 

has  music  been  preserved  by  any  definite  system 
of  notation.  Previous  to  that  time  it  was  a 
matter  of  tradition,  melodies  being  passed  from 
generation  to  generation  largely  through  the 
sense  of  hearing  only.  Curious  melodies  are  to 
be  heard  in  the  modern  Jewish  synagogue  which 
are  claimed  to  be  the  original  music  of  the  Tem- 
ple at  Jerusalem,  but  they  have  doubtless  suf- 
fered greatly  through  the  mutations  of  centuries 
and  the  accumulated  inaccuracies  of  aural  tra- 
dition.^ 

Modern  music  is  based  essentially  upon  even  ^i*j^°Jf. 
pulsations  and  regularly  recurring  accents.  ^^*^*'^- 
Plainsong  may  be  looked  upon  as  an  expansion 
of  the  natural  inflections  of  the  speaking  voice 
in  declaiming  prose.  Modern  melody  is  funda- 
mentally conceived  upon  a  harmonic  fabric, 
i.e.,  it  conforms  itself  to  certain  habits  of  har- 
monic progression  and  it  is  rarely  satisfactory 
without  accompaniment.  Plainsong  was  writ- 
ten before  the  art  of  harmony  was  thought  of, 
and  properly  should  not  be  accompanied  at  all.' 


1  The  tune  usually  sung  to  The  Ood  of  Abraham  Praise^ 
and  called  Leoni  (No.  460),  is  generally  considered  of  an- 
cient Hebrew  origin.  The  words  were  written  about  17T0 
and  are  an  adaptation  of  the  Jewish  Yigdal  or  Metrical 
Doxology.  The  tune  was  arranged  from  a  presumably  tra- 
ditional melody  sung  to  the  Yigdal  by  a  cantor  named  Leoni, 
in  a  London  synagogue.  The  melody  as  we  know  it  has  in 
all  probability  been  influenced  by  eighteenth-century  har- 
mony, for  it  lacks  the  characteristics  of  great  antiquity. 

2  If  plainsong  melodies  be  accompanied  at  all  the  har- 
monies should  adapt  themselves  to  the  rules  of  modal 
counterpoint,   a   harmonic   system    which   grew   out   of   the 


6  MV8W  IN  THE  CHURCH 

Furthermore,  modern  melodies  confine  them- 
selves to  our  present-day  modes,  the  major  and 
the  minor.  Plainsong  melodies  at  first  had 
choice  of  the  four  original  authentic  modes  of 
modM.  th^  Greeks, — the  Dorian,  the  Phrygian,  the  Ly- 

dian,  and  the  Mixo-Lydian,  to  which  Pope 
Gregory  the  Great  is  popularly  supposed  to  have 
added  the  four  plagal  or  accessory  modes.  Later 
the  system  was  expanded  to  no  less  than  four- 
teen modes,  which  gave  to  plainsong  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  tonal  variety.' 

At  first  plainsong  was  syllabic — that  is  to 
say,  one  note  was  sung  to  each  syllable — but  it 
was  not  long  before  ligatures,  or  the  slurring  of 
two  or  more  notes  to  one  syllable,  came  into 
vogue.  This  principle  was  developed  until  it 
became  a  prime  characteristic  of  plainsong,  and 
long  melodic  phrases  were  sung  to  a  single  word 
or  syllable.  These  "perieleses,"  as  they  were 
called,  are  frequently  of  great  beauty  and  serve 
to  give  emotional  expressiveness  to  the  text. 
This  expansion  and  development  of  the  musical 
phrase  was  an  artistic  necessity,  as  custom  per- 
mitted no  text  repetition.      Similar   extended 


material  of  plainsong  itself.  The  modern  habit  of  accom- 
panying Gregorian  tones  or  plainsong  melodies  with  sen- 
suous chromatic  harmonies  and  the  free  use  of  dissonances, 
is  greatly  to  be  deplored,  and  such  treatment  at  once  stamps 
the  performer  as  utterly  ignorant  of  the  true  nature  and 
beauty  of  plainsong, 

» A  more  detailed  account  of  these  modes,  as  well  as  of 
plainsong  characteristics  in  general,  will  be  found  in  the 
last  lecture. 


HYMN  TUNES 


phrases  were  also  sung  to  an  inarticulate  vowel 
sound  and  were  called  ^^pneumae."* 

Although  in  the  days  of  the  early  Church  ftneli^ot 
there  was  no  sharp  distinction  between  the  P^*^"s°^g- 
sacred  and  secular  styles  of  music,  plainsong 
by  its  inherent  strength,  dignity,  and  beauty, 
as  well  as  by  its  centuries  of  use,  has  fully  es- 
tablished itself  as  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  pur- 
poses of  musical  worship.  If  we  assume  that 
it  is  desirable  to  have  the  music  used  for  the 
worship  of  Almighty  God  something  apart, 
something  entirely  removed  from  secular  sug- 
gestion, then  we  are  obliged  to  admit  that  even 
the  tremendous  development  of  the  art  of  music 
in  our  day  has  nothing  to  offer  more  fitting, 
more  characteristic,  or  better  suited  to  its  pur- 
pose than  the  ancient  plainsong. 


*  The    following    is    the    closing    phrase    In    a    twelfth- 
century  Kyrie  translated  into  modern  notation : 


m 


^^-ffU 


.^-^f^ 


B=^ 


P—M—m-^ 


Ky  -  ri  -  e 


# — 0-^^f  m  ^-^-^ 


mt-VA^j-jJ^^ 


e  le    -    i  -  son. 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Lasting 
quality  of 
plalnsong. 


Venl 

Emmanuel 
(No.  45). 


It  is  surmised  that  the  early  hymn  writers 
supplied  also  the  tunes,  but  it  is  extremely  un- 
likely that  these  melodies  were  original  prod- 
ucts. It  is  more  probable  that  they  were  a 
species  of  religious  folksong,  made  up  of  famil- 
iar melodic  formulas  and  readily  acquired  by 
the  people.  In  any  event  the  early  Church 
soon  accumulated  a  rich  treasury  of  Latin  verse 
set  to  plainsong  melodies  of  distinction  and 
force.  ° 

That  these  melodies  have  lasting  and  vital 
qualities  is  amply  proved  by  the  few  plainsong 
tunes  that  have  come  into  general  use.  Take 
for  example  our  well-known  Advent  hymn, 
"O  come,  0  come,  Emmanuel,"  to  its  plainsong 
setting.  There  are  few  tunes  more  universally 
liked  or  sung  more  heartily  than  this.  And 
still  it  is  a  tune  at  which  some  experienced  mu- 
sicians look  askance  when  first  met  with,  be- 
cause it  is  so  far  removed  from  the  melodic  and 
harmonic  phraseology  to  which  they  are  accus- 
tomed. While  certain  few  never  learn  to  like 
it,  its  general  popularity  is  unquestioned.  Ex- 
cellent as  this  tune  is,  however,  it  is  not  a  speci- 


5  During  the  various  reforming  and  protesting  move- 
ments these  melodies  came  into  disfavor,  but  many  of  the 
hymns  were  translated  into  the  vernacular  and  supplied  with 
new  tunes.  The  plainsong  tunes,  however,  remained  in  use 
among  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  several  hundred  of  them 
are  still  extant.  It  remained  for  the  Oxford  Movement  of 
less  than  a  century  ago  to  discover  and  appreciate  the  real 
worth  of  these  ancient  melodies  and  to  introduce  their  use 
into  the  Anglican  Church.  Since  then  their  inherent  worth 
has  slowly  gained  recognition. 


HYM^  TUNES  9 

men  of  the  pure  plainsong  melody.  It  is 
usually  ascribed  to  a  French  Missal  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  in  the  National  Library  at  Lis- 
bon, though  thorough  search  has  failed  to  re- 
veal it.  The  tune  is  probably  made  up  of  a 
number  of  plainsong  phrases,  arranged  to  fit 
the  metre  of  iN'eale's  translation  of  the  original 
Latin  hymn,  which  dates  from  a  Mozarabic 
Breviary  of  the  twelfth  century. 

A  more  authentic  example  of  the  ancient  cr^tor 
style  of  melody  is  that  of  the  ''Veni  Creator  (No.  289). 
Spiritiis/'  The  original  poem  was  written  about 
the  year  800  and  the  plainsong  melody  used  in 
many  of  our  churches  has  always  been  asso- 
ciated with  these  words.  It  comes  with  striking 
effect  in  the  ordination  and  consecration  ser- 
vices, when  its  venerable  strains  seem  to  empha- 
size the  historic  continuity  of  the  priesthood. 

Here  again  we  feel  the  force  of  a  musical 
expression  far  removed  from  the  musical  idiom 
of  our  day  and  perfectly  fitting  the  mediaeval 
characteristics  of  the  text.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  modern  settings  of  this  hymn  seem  point- 
less and  meaningless  when  once  the  spirit  of  the 
traditional  tune  has  been  fathomed. 

Another    general    favorite    is    ''0    quanta  Qu^^fa** 
Qualia."     To   hear   this   noble   tune   sung   in^  (No.  397). 
vigorous  unison  is  always  an  inspiration.     Like 
all  plainsong  melodies,  it  appears  to  best  ad- 
vantage when  sung  by  men's  voices  only.     The 


10 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Falestrina 
(7-1594). 
Victory 
(No.  121). 


Increasing 
popularity 
of  plain- 
song. 


tune  sung  to  "The  strife  is  o'er,"  by  Palestrina, 
while  not  strictly  a  plainsong  melody,  has  many 
characteristics  of  the  early  style. 

These  four  examples  exhaust  the  list  of 
mediaeval  tunes  that  are  at  all  generally  known 
in  our  churches,  but  they  suffice  to  demonstrate 
the  great  worth  of  these  melodies  and  their  prac- 
tical adaptability  to  modern  needs  and  condi- 
tions. Our  ritualistic  churches  draw  upon  a 
larger  selection  from  ancient  sources,  and  melo- 
dies which  at  first  seem  to  be  "without  form  or 
comeliness"  soon  grow  to  be  beloved.' 

That  there  is  a  growing  sentiment  in  favor 
of  these  tunes  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  the 
last  edition  of  "Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern" 
(1904)  has  no  less  than  seventy  plainsong 
hymns,  over  three  times  as  many  as  in  the  first 
edition  of  1861.  Immense  labor  was  spent  both 
on  the  translation  of  the  text  of  these  ancient 
hymns  of  the  Western  Church,  and  also  upon 
securing  the  best  and  most  authentic  arrange- 
ment of  the  traditional  tunes.  These  tunes  are 
first  printed  in  the  ancient  notation  upon  the 
four-lined  C  clef,  with  the  square  notes.     Then 


« Among  the  hymns  most  in  vogue  are  Pange  Lingua. 
Corde  Natus,  Ecce  Agnus,  Stabat  Mater,  and  the  beautiful 
Easter  hymn,  O  Filii  et  Filiae^  which,  however,  is  com- 
paratively modern,  being  of  French  origin  and  dating  from 
1674.  Pange  Lingua,  dating  from  570,  is  marliedly  char- 
acteristic of  the  plainsong  type.  Some  modern  editors  at- 
tempt to  force  these  unmetrical  tunes  into  modern  metres, 
a  process  which  robs  them  of  much  of  their  distinctiveness. 
They  should  no  more  be  governed  by  rigidly  recurring 
accents  than  the  free  declamation  of  poetry  itself. 


HYMN  TUNES  11 

follows  a  translation  into  modern  notation,  har- 
monized with  proper  modal  harmonies,  in  case 
organ  accompaniment  is  preferred.  To  quote 
the  preface  of  the  book,  "l^o  attempt  has  been 
made  by  bar  or  accents  to  indicate  the  rhythm, 
as  in  plainsong  no  strict  time  values  are  repre- 
sented by  the  notes.  The  accent  and  character 
of  the  words  must  determine  the  rhythm  and 
time  of  the  music." 

When  one  considers  that  twenty  million 
copies  of  "Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern"  were 
sold  in  twenty  years,  the  importance  of  this 
championing  of  the  plainsong  tune  will  be  ap- 
preciated. 

II.       GERMAN     CHORALES. 

The  Eeformation  brought  forth  marked  pj^^^sesof 
changes  both  m  the  character  and  m  the  use  of  mation. 
Church  music.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
had  developed  a  finely  organized  and  highly 
elaborated  system  of  music,  founded  upon  plain- 
song, a  system  that  remains  to-day  the  embodi- 
ment of  reverence  and  dignity,  leaving  little 
to  be  desired  from  a  liturgical  point  of  view. 
The  more  this  early  music  of  the  Mass  is 
studied  the  more  apparent  becomes  its  fitness 
to  the  ornate  ritual  of  the  Roman  Church  and 
to  the  language  of  that  ritual.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  music  was  more  and  more  rele- 
gated to  the  priesthood  and  officially  appointed 


12  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

choirs,  while  the  people's  part  both  in  the  music 
and  in  the  services  generally  was  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 

The  Lutheran  Reformation  restored  to  the 
layman  the  right  to  join  actively  in  the  musical 
services  of  the  Church.  As  a  result  thousands 
of  hymns  were  written  in  Protestant  Germany 
and  these  were  provided  with  tunes  which  re- 
main to-day  an  unexcelled  type  of  congrega- 
tional music, 
chorale.  These  chorales,   or  hymn  tunes,   were  the 

most  characteristic  feature  of  the  Reformation 
music.  Some  of  the  earliest  specimens  were 
not  "composed''  in  the  modern  sense  of  the 
term.  In  fact  the  word  "compose"  originally 
meant  to  arrange,  or  put  together.  At  that 
period  it  was  the  fashion  to  develop  long  com- 
positions, either  vocal  or  instrumental,  from  a 
theme  or  cantus  firmus,  which  was  apt  to  be  a 
fragment  either  of  a  plainsong  or  a  folksong 
melody.  These  themes  were  frequently  devel- 
oped in  a  most  elaborate  manner  according  to 
certain  set  formulas.  While  this  style  of  com- 
position was  at  first  very  stiff  and  mechanical, 
it  finally  evolved  into  the  masterly  polyphony 
of  Johann  Sebastian  Bach  and  became  the 
foundation  of  the  modern  art  of  music. 

Luther  and  his  musical  co-workers  arranged 
the  celebrated  chorales  of  that  period  from  folk- 
songs, or  from  the  music  of  the  Roman  Catholic 


HTMt^    TUNES  13 

liturgy.  These  melodies  are  in  a  sense  like 
proverbs,  and  conform  to  that  apt  definition  of 
a  proverb,  "The  wisdom  of  many  expressed  by 
the  wit  of  one."  But  whatever  their  source, 
these  justly  famous  tunes  are  marked  by  devo- 
tional earnestness  and  great  dignity.  Some 
seem  to  have  been  hewn  from  solid  rock,  so 
strong  and  massive  are  they,  while  others  are 
of  a  more  intimate  and  appealing  nature.  The 
emotional  element  in  music,  as  we  understand 
it,  was  scarcely  yet  developed,  and  even  the 
love  song  of  Luther's  time  was  a  serious  and 
weighty  affair.  When  we  recall  this  fact  it  is 
no  shock  to  learn  that  the  wondrously  beautiful 
melody  known  as  the  Passion  Chorale  to  "O 
Sacred  Head  surrounded"  was  originally  a  love 
song  to  the  words  Mein  G'mut  ist  Mir  Verwir- 
ret. 

Martin  Luther  until  comparatively  recent  Martin 
date  has  been  credited  with  a  number  of  tunes  (i483-' 
as  his  own  composition — notably  Ein"  Teste 
Burg  and  Luther^s  Hymn.  Investigation 
seems  to  establish  the  fact  that  he,  too,  com- 
posed only  in  the  sense  of  arranging  and  adapt- 
ing. 

As  these  chorales  conform  more  nearly  to  chorales 

.  '^  essentiaUy 

our  modern  scales  and  harmonic  system,  they  congrega- 

,  ._       _  Till    iionsA. 

are  much  more  easily  learned  and  understood 
than  the  plainsong  melodies.  Like  the  latter, 
they  are  well  adapted  for  unison  singing  on  ac- 


14  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

count  of  the  strong  and  diatonic  (as  opposed  to 
chromatic)  nature  of  the  melodies.  The  early 
chorales  were  harmonized  in  an  elaborate,  con- 
trapuntal manner,  the  intention  being  to  have 
the  melody  sung  by  all  the  congregation,  while  a 
trained  choir  sang  the  harmonies. 
?f7hl°^"^^^*  As  was  the  custom  in  England,  the  melody 
chorale.  of  these  German  chorales  was  at  first  in  the 
tenor  part  but  was  later  transferred  to  the 
soprano  part.  The  artistic  development  of  the 
chorale  reached  its  climax  under  the  great 
Leipzig  cantor,  Johann  Sebastian  Bach,  who 
introduced  these  already  widely  known  and 
famous  melodies  into  his  oratorios  and  Church 
cantatas,  and  who  harmonized  them  in  a  man- 
ner that  established  a  model  for  all  time. 
While  of  great  beauty,  these  harmonizations 
are  somewhat  too  difficult  for  ordinary  use 
and  simpler  arrangements  are  better  for  the 
average  congregation.  It  is  rather  a  sad  reflec- 
tion on  our  vaunted  modern  musical  culture 
when  we  are  forced  to  admit  that  the  art  and 
workmanship  of  hymn  tune  writing  in  the  time 
of  Luther  or  Bach  far  excels  the  best  efforts 
of  to-day. 
Igg^g  The  compilers  of  our  present  official  hymnal. 

Burg.  through    some    inscrutable    process    of   reason- 

ing, have  deprived  us  of  the  use  of  the  most 
famous  of  all  German  chorales.  They  have 
made  use  of  Buckoll's  translation  of  ''Ei7i  Feste 


HYMN  TUNES  15 

Burg  ist  Unser  Gott/'  which  changes  the  pic- 
turesque and  irregular  metre  of  Luther  into 
commonplace  eights  and  sevens,  thus  making  it 
impossible  to  use  the  original  tune.  Conse- 
quently the  tune  known  as  Luther^s  Hymi^  and 
usually  sung  to  "Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and 
hear,"  is  substituted.  If  the  fine  translation  of 
Dr.  Hedge  had  been  made  use  of  we  should  not 
have  been  robbed  of  the  greatest  of  all  hymn 
tunes,  a  tune  that  Heine  called  the  "Marseil- 
laise of  the  Eeformation"  and  that  Frederick 
the  Great  referred  to — in  all  seriousness — as 
"God  Almighty's  Grenadier  March."  Bach 
has  a  Church  cantata  based  upon  it;  Men- 
delssohn uses  it  in  his  Reformation  symphony; 
Meyerbeer  in  one  of  his  operas,  and  Wagner  in 
his  celebrated  "Kaisermarsch,"  which  glorifies 
the  prowess  of  the  German  empire. 

Of  the  thirty-odd  tunes  of  German  origin 
which  are  found  in  Hutchins'  edition  of  our 
hymnal  but  one  dates  from  the  time  of  Luther. 
This  is  the  one  already  referred  to  as  Luther's  Hym"'" 
Hymx.  This  tune  was  arranged  by  the  great  (No.  37), 
reformer  and  music  lover  from  a  secular  song 
and  soon  became  wedded  to  Luther's  own  words, 
''Nun  Freut  Euch,  Liehen  Christen  G'mein/* 
and  the  two  were  accounted  to  have  made  many 
converts  to  the  Protestant  faith.  The  tune  first 
appeared  in  1535  in  Joseph  King's  "Gesang- 
buch." 


16 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Attolle 
Paulum 
(No.  202). 


Nicolaus 

Decius 

(7-1541). 


Hermhut 
(No.  40). 


PhiUpp 
Nicolal 
(1556- 
1608). 


Passion 
Chorale 
(No.  102). 


Contemporaneous  with  this  tune  and  a  most 
beautiful  example  of  the  quieter,  more  intro- 
spective style  is  the  melody  known  as  Attolle 
Paulum  to  the  hymn,  "Across  the  sky  the  shades 
of  night."  Both  text  and  music  are  from  the 
pen  of  the  Rev.  E'icolaus  Decius,  and  date  from 
the  sixteenth  century.  The  German  words  to 
this  tune,  ''Allein  Gott  in  der  Hoh  sei  Ehr/'  is  a 
metrical  version  of  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis.' 

Mendelssohn,  who,  like  all  great  composers, 
had  respect  and  reverence  for  the  traditional 
chorale  melodies,  uses  this  tune  of  Decius'  in 
his  oratorio  of  St.  Paul.  The  melody  is  known 
as  Decius  in  some  hymn  books  and  as  Stettin 
in  others. 

The  next  tune  in  chronological  order, 
Herrnhut^  was  published  in  1599  and  is  sung 
to  the  Advent  hymn,  "Wake,  awake,  for  night 
is  flying."  Both  text  and  tune  are  accredited 
to  the  Rev.  Philipp  I^icolai.  The  tune  is  used 
with  fine  effect  in  Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul  to  a 
different  translation  of  the  same  text,  "Sleepers, 
wake!  a  Voice  is  calling." 

The  Passion  Chorale^  "0  Sacred  Head 
surrounded,"  first  appeared  in  1601  in  its  secu- 
lar character.  It  was  composed  by  Hans  Leo 
Hassler  and  appeared  as  a  chorale  in  1613  to 


T  This  versifying  of  canticles  and  psalms  became  later  a 
veritable  craze,  which  reached  its  climax  in  England  when 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  were  made  over  into  metrical 
verse  and  duly  provided  with  music  by  one  Christopher  Tye. 


HTMN  TUNES  17 

the  German  text,  ''Herzlich  Thut  Mich  Ver-  gSeV° 
langen/^  It  soon,  however,  became  associated  [Hit 
with  ''0  Haupt  Voll  Blut  und  Wunden/'  of 
which  our  hymn  is  a  translation.  Bach  uses 
this  matchless  tune  five  times  in  his  great  ^^Pas- 
sion  According  to  St.  Matthew."  It  is  much  in 
vogue  in  Germany  to-day  at  funerals,  intoned 
by  trombones,  and  its  sombre  dignity  never  fails 
to  make  a  deep  impression. 

Our  Palm  Sunday  tune,  St.  Theodulph,  dui5?^°' 
for  '^All  glory,  laud,,  and  honor,"  was  composed  <no.  90). 
and  originally  written  in  five-part  harmony  by  Te^gciner 
Melchoir  Teschner  and  first  published  in  1615.  <i6oo-?). 
Its  vigorous  swing  and  strong  individuality 
have  made  it  a  great  favorite. 

The  most  generally  known,  perhaps,  of  these  ^no.  466?^* 
earlier    tunes,    due    no    doubt    to    its    sturdy 
straightforwardness   and   simplicity,    is   ''Nun 
Danket  All  Gott/'     It  was  composed  by  Johann 
Crliger   and   dates   about   1648.      Mendelssohn  "J;°u|^? 
uses  it  in  his  great  cantata,   ^^The  Hymn  of  i662k 
Praise." 

The  tune   Salzburg  was  written  in  1652    (No,^i[|), 
by  Johann  Rosenmiiller,  a  musician  who  at  one 
time  held  the  post  of  music  director  of  the  St.   Eosen^ 
Thomas  School  at  Leipzig,  thus  being  a  prede-    aeil- 
cessor  of  Johann  Sebastian  Bach.     The  tune  is  ^^^^^• 
sung  to  the  words  "At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we 
sing."     It  is  a  pity  that  a  great  chorale  writ-  Neumark 
ten  about  this  period  by  George  I^eumark  is  ielij] 


18 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Bremen, 
Augsburg,  or 
Neumark. 


Other 

German 

tunes. 


Heinleln 
(No.  79). 


Ratisbon 
(No.  224), 


not  in  our  Hymnal.  It  is  variously  known  as 
Bremen^  Augsburg^  and  Neumark  and  was 
originally  sung  to  the  German  hymn,  ''Wer  Nun 
den  Lieben  Gott  Ldsst  Walten/'  This  tune  was 
such  a  favorite  in  Lutheran  circles  that  no  less 
than  four  hundred  hymns  were  written  to  be 
sung  to  it  in  the  course  of  a  century. 

We  have  now  exhausted  the  older  and  more 
typical  chorales  to  be  found  in  our  Hymnal, 
and  they  far  exceed  in  beauty  and  real  worth 
those  of  later  date.  For  them  to  become  popular 
is  simply  a  matter  of  thorough  familiarity,  as 
the  general  public  is  by  no  means  lacking 
in  appreciation  of  good  art  when  it  has  had  fair 
opportunity  of  acquaintance.  Every  German 
is  familiar  with  them  and  reveres  them,  and 
this  love  for  these  time-honored  chorales  remains 
when  perhaps  all  other  religious  influences  have 
vanished. 

Of  the  remaining  tunes  from  German 
sources  we  will  find  many  sterling  tunes  but  of 
a  more  modern  character,  and  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult, in  many  instances,  to  differentiate  between 
them  and  the  better  class  of  English  tunes  of 
the  same  period. 

Heinlein^  written  in  167Y  and  associated 
with  "Forty  days  and  forty  nights,"  still  retains 
mediaeval  characteristics  and  is  one  of  the  few 
tunes  in  a  minor  key  in  general  use.  Ratisbon, 
dating  from  1680,  to  "Bread  of  Heaven  on  Thee 


EYMlf  TUNES  19 

we  feed/'  is  decidelj  modem  in  tone,  as  is  also  Meinhow 
Meixhold'  to  "Tender   Shepherd,   Thou  hast    (No.  248). 
stilled."     WiNCHESTEK  Xew  to  "On  Jordan's  ^^J^"^^^*" 
bank  the  Baptist's  cry"  is  from  the  year  1690   (No.  44). 
and   is   German,   despite   its   name.     The   pic- 
turesque Ellaco:mbe  to  "Come  praise  your  Lord  Eiiacombe 
and  Saviour"  is  ascribed  to  1700,  but  is  prob-   (No.  533). 
ably  a  hundred  years  later.     Muxich^  harmon-   ^J^gsi) 
ized  by  Mendelssohn,  associated  with  "O  Word 
of  God  incarnate,"  dates  from  1701,  and  might 
easily  be  considered  modern  English,  but  in  the 
fine  Easter  tune  Woegax  to  "Jesus  Christ  is  ^°o^^ii2) 
risen   to-day"   with    its   inspiring   Alleluia    re- 
frain, we  are  back  in  Germany  again  and  pre- 
cisely two  hundred  years  ago.     "Come,  Thou 
long-expected  Jesus"  to  Stuttgakt  gives  one  of   (JJI,"f|^ 
our  best  straightforward,   everyday  tunes  and 
the  same  characteristics   apply  to   Fkaxcoxia  Tno°2°io? 
(1738),   to  the  words   "Stand,   soldier   of  the   g.^^^^^^ 
Cross,"  to  SwABiA  (1745),  to  "This  is  the  day   (n?.28). 
of  light,"  and  to  Huesley  (1774),  "Sun  of  my  f^J^lff) 
soul.  Thou  Saviour  dear." 

Our  greatest  composers  have  rarely  turned 
to  hymn-tune  writing,  but  we  have  two  fine  ex- 
amples from  Haydn,  Lyoxs  to  "How  wondrous  ^J^^lg-x 
and  great,"  and  the  Austrian  Xational  Hymn 
which  is  set  to  "Glorious  things  of  Thee  are 


s  Hutchins  attributes  this  tune  to  J.  S.  Bach,  but  it  ap- 
peared in  the  Liineburgisches  Gesangbuch  in  1686,  one  year 
after  Bach's  birth. 


20 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Francis  Jo- 
seph Haydn 
(1732- 
1809). 


Austria 
(No.  490). 


Ignaz  Josef 

Pleyel 

(1757- 

1831). 

Pleyel 

(No.  452). 

Grace 
Church 
(No.  339). 


Dix 
(No.  65), 


spoken."  Haydn  had  envied  the  English  their 
national  anthem,  ^^God  Save  the  King,"  and  in 
consequence  wrote  the  above-mentioned  tune 
Austria  in  January,  1797.  On  the  Em- 
peror's birthday,  February  12th,  following,  it 
was  sung  simultaneously  in  the  national  theatre 
in  Vienna  and  the  principal  theatres  throughout 
the  provinces.  Haydn  was  sixty-five  years  old 
at  the  time.  Twelve  years  later,  on  May  26th, 
he  assembled  his  household  around  him  for  the 
last  time,  and  on  being  carried  to  the  piano, 
played  the  hymn  through  solemnly  three  times. 
Five  days  afterwards  he  died. 

The  tune  by  Pleyel  to  "Children  of  the 
Heavenly  King,"  and  Grace  Church  to  "0 
Thou  to  "V\Tiose  all-searching  sight,"  by  the  same 
composer,  date  from  this  period  and  are  quite 
modern  in  style.  Dix^  a  general  favorite  to 
"As  with  gladness  men  of  old,"  dates  from  1838. 


III.       EARLY   EXGLISH    TUXES. 


Character- 
istics. 


William 
Croft 
(1677- 
1727). 

St.  Anne 
(No.  418). 


The  early  English  tunes  are  by  no  means 
as  picturesque  in  outline,  as  extended  in  range, 
or  as  varied  in  character  as  the  German 
chorales.  They  have  as  a  class  a  certain  rug- 
ged simplicity  which  adapts  them  admirably 
for  general  congregational  use.  The  best  ex- 
ample of  this  type  is  the  familiar  tune  by  Wil- 
liam Croft  called  St.  Axxe  (1708),  to  "6  God, 
our  help  in  ages  past,"  and  it  is  a  fine  example 


HYMN  TUNES  21 

of  what  a  good  Church  tune  should  be.  The 
melody  is  in  convenient  range  of  the  average 
voice,  which  cannot  be  said  of  many  of  the  Ger- 
man chorales.  It  is  essentially  dignified,  nobly 
befitting  the  massive  sweep  of  the  text.  It  fol- 
lows the  early  principle  of  plainsong,  a  syllable 
to  a  note,  and  the  rhythm  moves  in  stately 
strides  of  equal  notes.  The  same  composer's 
tune,  Haxover  (1708),  to  "O  worship  the  f^HIg). 
King"  is  another  good  specimen  of  this  style. 
A  tune  of  like  character  is  Dundee^  sometimes 
called  Feench  Duis^dee^  to  distinguish  it  from  ^No.^lJy). 
another  tune  of  similar  name,  which  was  prob- 
ably derived  from  a  melody  in  Christopher 
Tye's  metrical  version  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles published  in  1553.  The  Frei^ch  Duxdee 
is  nearly  a  century  older  than  St.  Ank^e^  and 
first  appeared  in  the  Scotch  Psalter  in  1615. 
In  Ravenscroft's  ^'Whole  Book  of  Psalms" 
(1621),  it  is  indexed  as  a  Scottish  tune  and  is 
called  DuxDY.  It  appears  in  some  books  as 
Frexch^  in  others  as  Xoewich.  Dundee  is 
one  of  the  best  tunes  of  its  type  and  was  much 
used  in  the  early  days  of  metrical  psalm-singing, 
being  at  one  time  one  of  eight  authorized  com- 
mon metre  tunes.  These  tunes  were  supposed 
by  the  ignorant  to  have  been  written  by  David, 
and  they  stoutly  refused  to  sing  aught  but  the 
tunes  of  David  to  the  psalms  of  David.  Dux- 
dee  is  used  a  number  of  times  in  our  Hymnal 


Tallis 


22  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

and  perhaps  most  generally  to  the  hymn,  ^'O 
God  of  Bethel,  by  Whose  Hand.'' 

The  oldest  English  tune  in  common  use  is 
Hyimn  Tallis^^  Hymn  (also  known  as  Tallis^  Canon 

or  Evening  Hymn)  to  "All  praise  to  Thee,  my 
God,  this  night.''  It  is  in  canon  form.  A 
canon  is  a  musical  device  in  which  a  melody 
starts  in  a  given  voice  and  after  a  few  notes  are 
sung  another  voice  starts  the  same  melody  and 
follows  the  first,  the  whole  harmonizing  to- 
gether. It  will  be  noticed  that  beginning  with 
the  fifth  note  the  tenor  sings  the  same  air  as  the 
soprano,  and  that  the  missing  notes  in  the  tenor 
m  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  found  at  the  beginning  of 

Taius  that  part.     In  Tallis'  time  the  four  parts  were 

1585).  known  as  "meane,  contra-tenor,  tenor,  and  bass," 

and  originally  the  canon  started  in  the  tenor 
and  was  followed  by  the  meane,  or  soprano. 
The  composer  gives  the  following  quaint  in- 
structions regarding  his  nine  tunes,  which  ap- 
pear at  the  end  of  a  metrical  psalter  printed  in 
1561 :  "The  tenor  of  these  partes  be  for  the  peo- 
ple when  they  will  sing  alone,  the  other  partes, 
put  for  greater  queers  or  to  such  as  will  sing  or 
play  them  privately."  It  will  be  remembered 
that  at  this  date  it  was  customary  to  put  the 
melody  in  the  tenor  part,  and  it  would  seem,  ac- 
cording to   Tallis,   that  the   congregations   in 


9  This  is  sometimes  printed  "Tallis's." 


EYMl^  TUNES 


23 


those  days  were  no  better  prepared  to  sing  in 
parts  than  they  are  to-day. 

Other  tunes  of  this  period  are  Tallis'  Ok-  J^^*', 
DiNAL   (1565),  "In  token  that  thou  shalt  not    (No.'?09). 
fear/'  and  St.  Flavian  (1562),  "Lord,  Who  fJjo^V^sT" 
throughout  these  forty  days." 

All  these  tunes  use  a  syllable  to  a  note,  have 
even  rhythm  and  simple  melodies.  The  tune 
WiisrcHESTER  Old  to  "When  all  Thy  mercies,  wi^^ci^estei 
O  my  God"  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  dates  from  ^^°-  ^^'^^• 
1592.  It  differs  from  the  English  tunes  so  far 
mentioned  in  that  it  makes  use  of  dotted  notes. 
In  England  this  tune  is  frequently  used  to 
"While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by 
night"  and  is  decidedly  better  than  the  tradi- 
tional tune  to  that  hymn  arranged  by  Sullivan. 
St.  Martin's,  which  is  sometimes  used  to  the 
same  text,  is  a  type  of  florid  melody  which  came 
much  into  vogue  at  the  time  of  the  Common- 
wealth and  Charles  the  Second.  It  was  a  period 
of  stagnation  and  decadence  in  Church  music; 
anthems  and  services  were  prohibited;  nothing 
but  metrical  psalms  were  sung;  and  the  tunes 
were  ornamented  with  absurd  turns  and  trills. 
Trivial  interludes  were  also  played  by  the  or- 
ganists between  the  lines  of  the  hymns,  thus 
disturbing  their  continuity.  A  relic  of  these 
times  is  still  to  be  met  with  in  Tallis'  Evening 
Hymn^  which,  in  certain  hymnals,  has  been  dis- 
figured by  triplets  and  passing  or  slurred  tones. 


St.  Martin's 
(No.  54). 


24 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Adeste 
Fideles 
(No.  49). 


tNo.Yg^e).  ^^^   national   hymn,   America^   which  we 

have  appropriated  from  England,  is  supposed 
to  have  been  composed  by  Henry  Carey  in  1740. 
aTsf-^^"^  At  least  it  was  first  sung  by  him  as  a  National 
1743).  Anthem  at  a  public  dinner  in  that  year,  and 

forty-five  years  afterwards  the  authorship  was 
claimed  for  him  by  his  son.  Like  Winchester 
Old^  this  tune  makes  use  of  dotted  notes,  but 
otherwise  conforms  to  the  simple  early  style. 

No  tune  has  been  subjected  to  so  much 
fruitless  investigation  as  to  its  origin  as  Adeste 
Fideles  or  the  Portuguese  Hymn.  It  received 
the  latter  name  from  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  who 
first  heard  it  in  the  Portuguese  chapel  (R.  C.) 
in  London.  It  was  ascribed  by  Vincent  Novello 
to  John  Reading,  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Blow,  who  was 
the  master  of  that  greatest  of  early  English  mu- 
sicians, Henry  Purcell.  The  date  is  given  by 
JSTovello  as  1680,  and  as  this  particular  John 
Reading  was  born  in  1677  there  is  evidently  a 
mistake  somewhere.  Another  John  Reading 
was  organist  of  Winchester  College  and  died  in 
1692,  but  nothing  suggesting  the  popular  tune 
to  ^^0  come,  all  ye  faithful''  has  been  found 
among  his  compositions.  As  far  as  has  been 
ascertained  it  was  first  published  in  1782,  but 
it  was  in  common  use  in  a  number  of  Roman 
churches  before  that  time,  a  MS.  copy  having 
been  found  dated  1751.  As  the  tune  is  probably 
contemporaneous  with  St.  Anne  it  is  remark- 


UTMN  TUNES  25 

able  for  its  more  flowing  outline  and  the  use  of 
slurred  notes.  In  fact  it  suggests  the  nineteenth 
rather  than  the  eighteenth  century. 

From  about  the  year  1750  an  excellent  type 
of  tune  was  evolved  which  retained  the  sturdi-   (No.  482). 
ness  and  manliness  of  the  early  type  combined   (i73i- 
with  greater  freedom  of  melody  and  greater  va-  Yorkshire 
riety  of  rhythm.     Fine  examples  of  this  style  jjjj^^^^* 
are   Darwall    (1770),    to    ''In    loud   exalted  Y'l^^Tsf^^ 
strains,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  Darwall;  Yorkshire  Txt"^**o..v 

^         'J  '  (No.  265). 

(also  known  as  Stockport  and  Mortram)  to   Charles 

,  Burney 

"Christians,  awake,  salute  the  happy  morn,"  by   (i726- 
J.  Wainwright;  and  Truro  (1790),  to  ''Arm  of   samuei 
the  Lord,  awake,"  by  Charles  Burney.     The  two  (1740- 
tunes  by  Webbe,  St.  Thomas  to  "Lo,  He  comes  st.  Thomas 
with     clouds     descending,"     and     Melcombe  Meicombe 
(1782)  to  "]!^ew  every  morning  is  the  love,"  as  p^ancVisH. 
well    as    Barthelemon's    Morning    Hymn    to  ^^^^f^}^^^^ 
"Awake  my  soul  and  with  the  sun"  revert  to  Morning 
the  earlier  rhythm  of  equal  notes.  "^^2). 

IV.   MODERN  ENGLISH  TUNES. 

The  modern  English  tunes  include  all  those 
written  since  1800. 

James   Turle,   who  was   organist  at  West-  Turie 

(1802- 

minster  Abbey  from  1831  to  1875,  contributes  1882). 

two  tunes,  Westminster  (1836)  to  "Lord,  in  T^jf^J^g^f®^ 

Thy    Name    Thy    servants    plead,"    and    St.  st.  John's 

John's,  Westminster  (1863)  to  "According  to  ^^o-^SSr' 
Thy   gracious   word,"    which   easily   might    be 


26 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Henry  J. 

Gauntlett 

(1805- 

1876). 

St.  Albinus 

(No.  122). 

St.  George 

(No.  672). 

St.  Alphege 

(No.  406). 

University 

College 

(No.  506). 

Samuel 

Sebastian 

Wesley 

(1810- 

1876). 

Aurelia 
(No.  491). 


Ewing 
(No.  408). 

Alexander 
Ewing 
(1830- 
1895). 

Henry 
Smart 
(1813- 
1879). 

Begent 
Square 
(No.  483). 


Pilgrims 
(No.  398), 


NachtUed 
(No.  7). 


mistaken  for  the  product  of  a  century  or  two 
earlier.  The  tunes  of  Henry  J.  Gauntlett  are 
but  a  trifle  more  modern:  St.  Albinus  (1852) 
to  ^^ Jesus  lives !  thy  terrors  now" ;  St.  George 
to  ^'Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds" ;  St.  Alphe(}e 
(1852)  to  "Brief  life  is  here  our  portion" ;  and 
University  College  (1852)  to  "Oft  in  dan- 
ger, oft  in  woe."  Samuel  Sebastian  Wesley, 
the  grandson  of  Charles  Wesley,  and  one  of  the 
best  musicians  of  his  day,  supplies  an  espe- 
cially fine  tune  in  Aurelia  (1864)  to  "The 
Church's  one  foundation."  One  would  be  dis- 
posed to  say  that  it  must  have  been  written 
especially  for  the  words,  so  perfectly  do  they 
fit,  but  it  was  originally  intended  for  "Jerusa- 
lem, the  golden,"  and  the  characteristic  and 
altogether  satisfactory  tune  of  Ewing  (1853) 
by  Alexander  Ewing  that  we  sing  to  "Jerusa- 
lem, the  golden,"  was  written  for  the  words  "For 
thee,  0  dear,  dear  country,"  another  section  of 
the  famous  poem  of  Bernard  of  Cluny  in  praise 
of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  A  good,  vigorous, 
singable  tune  is  Henry  Smart's  Regent  Square 
(18  67),  to  "Christ  is  made  the  sure  foundation." 
That  he  can  also  interpret  the  quieter  moods  is 
shown  by  his  popular  and  beautiful  tune  Pil- 
grims to  "Hark!  hark!  my  soul,  angelic  songs 
are  swelling,"  and  a  fine  sustained  mood  is 
found  in  his  Nachtlied  to  "The  day  is  gently 
sinking  to  a  close."     The  harmonies  to  Nacht- 


HYMN  TUNES  27 

lied  are  richer  and  fuller  than  any  of  the  Eng-  Transition 
lish  tunes  thus  far  considered  and  they  mark  an 
important  turning  point  in  the  evolution  of  the 
hymn  tune.  Up  to  this  time  tunes  were  rather 
general  as  to  their  mood  or  tone,  and  while 
many  of  them  were  written  to  some  particular 
text,  they  could  easily  be  transferred  to  other 
words  of  the  same  general  character.  Under 
Calvinistic  influences  religious  verse  in  England 
busied  itself  largely  with  adapting  the  Hebrew 
Psalms  to  poetic  measures.  The  result  was 
very  mechanical  in  its  early  attempts  and  con- 
fined itself  almost  exclusively  with  common 
metre.  Then  came  a  period  of  original  work 
that  was  largely  doctrinal  or  didactic,  followed 
by  poems  of  a  missionary  or  evangelistic  ten- 
dency. Hymns  gradually  became  freer  in  their 
poetic  expression  and  new  combinations  of 
rhythm  appear.  Finally  the  poetry  of  the 
Church  took  upon  itself  a  more  devotional  and 
personal  character,  and  these  peculiarities  called 
for  like  characteristics  in  the  musical  settings. 
The  modern  hymn  tune,  therefore,  is  of  such  an 
individualistic  character  that  it  is  apt  to  be 
wholly  satisfactory  only  in  its  original  connec- 
tion. The  words  and  music,  in  the  best  in- 
stances, are  indissolubly  wedded  together. 

We  feel  this  close  union  in  the  melodious 
setting  of  "Saviour,  again  to  Thy  dear  I^Tame  Hopkins  * 
we  raise,"  by  Edward  J.  Hopkins,  called  Bene-  1901  )i 


28 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Benediction 
(No.  32). 
St. 

Athanasius 
(No.  385). 


Tunes  More 
Lyrical. 


Redhead,  47 
(No.  348). 

Richard 
Redhead 
(1820- 
1901). 

Redhead,  76 
(No.  336). 


John 

Bacchus 

Dykes 

(1823- 

1876). 


DicTio]s^  or  Ellers  (1872)  and  also  his  St. 
Athanasius  to  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Lord." 
Hopkins  was  organist  of  the  Temple  Church  in 
London  from  1843  to  1898,  and  during  this  long 
incumbency  of  fifty-five  years  he  maintained 
the  highest  standards  of  Church  music  both  in 
selection  and  performance.  In  both  Smart  and 
Hopkins  we  note  a  more  lyrical  and  emotional 
vein,  w^hich  is  typical  of  the  modern  hymn  tune 
and  which  responds  most  intimately  to  the  mood 
of  the  verse.  Redhead's  simple  settings  to 
^'When  our  heads  are  bowed  with  woe"  and 
^^Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me"  have  this  same 
feeling.  The  fullest  development  of  this  ten- 
dency, however,  was  left  for  two  noted  hymn- 
tune  composers  who  were  born  within  six  days 
of  each  other,  John  Bacchus  Dykes  and  William 
Henry  Monk. 

Dykes  was  born  March  10,  1823.  Although 
in  orders,  he  was  a  professionally  trained  musi- 
cian and  was  at  one  time  conductor  of  the  Uni- 
versity Musical  Society  at  Cambridge.  The  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Music  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  University  of  Durham.  He  confined  his 
musical  activities  mostly  to  the  composition  of 
hymn  tunes,  of  which  he  wrote  about  three  hun- 
dred, and  which,  since  his  death,  have  been  pub- 
lished in  a  single  volume.  Although  unknown 
to  the  editors  at  the  time,  seven  of  his  tunes 
which  he  modestly  submitted  were  published  in 


HYMN  TUNES  29 

the  first  edition  of  "Hymns  Ancient  and  Mod- 
ern."    Twenty-five  more  were  added  to  later 
editions  in  which  he  assisted  in  the  editorial 
work.     Monk  also  was  honored  with  the  degree  Henry" 
of  Doctor  of  Music  from  the  University  of  Dur-  ^^8^2^. 
ham    and    was    organist    of    several    London  ^^8®>- 
churches   and   of   King's   College,    Cambridge, 
which  has  always  been  famed  for  its  music. 
But  he  is  more  generally  known  as  musical  edi- 
tor of  "Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,"  and  his 
taste  and  musicianship  had  much  to  do  with 
the  enormous  success  of  that  book.     His  con- 
tribution of  thirty-five  original  tunes  is  by  no 
means  the  least  attractive  feature  of  that  model 
hymnal. 

Both  of  these  musicians  have  qualities  in  Sonk  *^^ 
common  which  place  them  in  the  very  front  compared, 
rank  of  modern  hymn  tune  writers.  Their  melo- 
dies are  invariably  of  definite  individuality, 
graceful  contour,  and  above  all  things,  singable. 
Their  harmonies  add  richness  and  character  to 
the  melody,  avoiding  the  commonplace  on  the 
one  side  and  extravagance  on  the  other.  Their 
part-writing  is  masterful,  each  part  in  itself  be- 
ing tuneful  and  interesting.  This  is  particu- 
larly true  of  the  bass  part,  the  deft  handling  of 
which  is  always  the  surest  sign  of  ripe  musician- 
ship. Lastly,  they  both  have  a  keen  apprecia- 
tion for  the  underlying  thought  of  the  text  and 


30 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Eventide 
(No.  12). 
HolUngside 
(No.  335). 


Monk'g 
tunes. 


Nutfield 
(No.  19). 

St.  Matthias 
(No.  22). 

Undi  et 
Memores 
(No.  228). 

Easter 
Hymn 
(No.  112). 

Ascension 
(No.  128). 


reflect  in  the  music  a  faithful  and  concise  com- 
posite of  the  meaning  of  the  words. 

Of  the  two,  Dykes  is  the  more  picturesque, 
varied,  and  resourceful,  while  Monk's  tunes 
have  a  quiet  earnestness  that  is  very  appealing. 
At  times  their  styles  closely  approach  in  their 
inner  essence,  as  for  instance.  Monk's  Eventide 
(1861)  to  ''Abide  with  me"  and  Dykes'  Hol- 
LixGsiDE  (1861)  to  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul." 
It  would  indeed  be  difl&cult  to  decide  on  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  these  beautiful  tunes,  each  is  so 
perfect  in  itself,  bringing  out  so  adequately  the 
tender  trustfulness  of  their  respective  texts. 

HoLLiNGSiDE  was  named  from  Dykes'  own 
home  in  Durham,  where  as  minor  canon  and 
precentor  of  the  Cathedral  he  lived  for  thirteen 
years.  Later  he  was  vicar  of  St.  Oswald's. 
Monk  is  said  to  have  composed  Eventide  in  ten 
minutes  in  a  room  where  a  piano  lesson  was  in 
progress. 

Monk  is  particularly  successful  when  in  a 
quiet,  introspective  mood,  as  is  witnessed  by  his 
Nutfield  to  ''God,  that  madest  earth  and 
heaven,"  his  St.  Matthias  (1861)  to  "Sweet 
Saviour,  bless  us  ere  we  go,"  and  particularly  in 
his  communion  hymn  Undi  et  Memores  "And 
now,  O  Father,  mindful  of  the  love." 

That  Monk  can  strike  a  more  jubilant  strain 
is  manifested  in  his  Easter  Hymn^  "Jesus 
Christ  is  risen  to-day,"  his  tune  Ascension  to 


BYMN  TUNES  31 

"Hail  the  day  that  sees  Him  rise,"  his  Coeox^e    coronae 

.  ...  (No.  130). 

to  "Look  ye  saints,  the  sight  is  glorious/'  and 

his  stirring  Alleluia  Peke]^ne^  "Sing  Alleluia  AUeiuia 

forth  in  duteous  praise."  (No.  462). 

When  we  stop  to  consider  the  tunes  of  John  ^Jjlf 
Bacchus  Dykes  it  is  difficult  to  decide  where  to 
begin  and  where  to  end.     Of  the  quieter,  sim- 
pler tunes     we  have  the  graceful  St.  Agnes  ?j;"^|5®v* 
(1866),  to  "Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night"  ; 
the  sombre  but  beautiful  St.  Ceoss  (1861),  to   (No^i°oI). 
"O   come   and   mourn  with   me   awhile" ;   the  Dominus 
pastoral  Domixus  eegit  me   (1868),  to  "The  \^^,Ti2). 
King  of  love  my  Shepherd  is" ;  the  straight-   g^  ^ggg 
forward  St.  Bees  (1862),  to  "Jesus,  ^me  of   (no.i49). 
wondrous  love";  the  appealing  St.  Cuthbeet  ^^0^37^5^^* 
(1861),    to    "Our    blest    Eedeemer    ere    He 
breathed,"  and  the  bright  St.  Oswald  (1857),   (L^lu^ 
to  "Guide  me,  0  Thou  great  Jehovah,"  named 
from  the  church  where  Dykes  was  vicar. 

Of  a  more  vigorous  type  we  have  the  ever 
popular  :NriCxEA  (1861)  to  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy    (No^sss). 
Lord  God  Almighty";  St.  Deostane  (1862)  to  (No.  91). 
"Kide  on,  ride  on  in  majesty,"  and  the  uplift-   (No.  396). 
ing  Alfoed  (1875)  to  "Ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand,"  one  of  the  very  finest  modern  tunes.'" 

10  After  the  death  of  Dykes,  Mr.  Henry  W.  Baker,  one 
of  the  projectors  and  editors  of  Hymns  Ancient  and  Mod- 
ern, wrote  to  the  widow  :  "We  are  going  to  sing  only  his 
tunes  to  every  hymn  all  next  Sunday,  and  the  Dies  Irae 
after  Evensong  for  him;  followed  by  Ten  Thousand  Times 
Ten  Thousand."  (Baker,  by  the  way,  wrote  the  beautiful 
melody  "Stephanos"  to  Art  Thou  Weary/'  which  Monk  har- 
monized.) 


32  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

It  is,  however,  in  the  opportunity  for  the 

picturesque  or  in  the  touch  of  the   dramatic 

st-^Andrew     where  Dykes'  real  genius  shines.    In  his  St.  An- 

(No.  81).       DREW  OF  Crete  (1868)  to  ^^Christiau,  dost  thou 

see  them,"  we  have  almost  a  new  type  with  its 

sharp  and  striking  contrasts.     The  same  method 

but  in  less  degree  is  used  in  his  beautiful  Vox 

7no.^7§)"     Dilecti  (1868)  to  ^^I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus 

(No^62i)!"  s^y/'  ^^  ^^s  touching  St.  Sylvester  (1862)  to 

^'Days  and  moments  quickly  flying,"  and  in  his 

^No.% .       dramatic  St.  Johist,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God !" 

a  tune  which  begins  in  the  Middle  Ages  and 

closes  rather  all  too  sweetly  in  the  nineteenth 

century.     Among    his    best   known    and    most 

^NJ.^rsr''  widely  sung  tunes  are  Lux  Benigna  (1867)  to 

a?o.*306).      ''I^ead,  kindly  Light,"  and  his  setting  Melita 

to  the  hymn  for  those  at  sea. 

Dykes'  dramatic  feeling,  tempered  by  his 
keen  sense  of  balance  and  propriety,  has  full 
?n"  36?.  sway  in  his  Dies  Irae  (1861),  and  it  is  also 
another  successful  example  of  breaking  the 
bonds  of  limitation  in  hymn  music  and  hinting 
at  methods  which  tend  to  enlarge  the  scope  of 
congregational  singing.  Enough  has  been 
quoted  from  Dykes  to  prove  that  he  is  easily 
first  among  moderns  in  his  art.  In  the  preface 
to  the  collection  of  Dykes'  hymn  tunes.  Sir 
George  C.  Martin,  after  enumerating  some  four- 
teen of  the  best  known  tunes,  goes  on  to  say: 
"They  are  ^on  the  lips  of  thousands,'  and  are 


HYMN  TUNES  33 

associated  with  the  most  solemn  moments  of 
life.  But  because  Dr.  Dykes  was  happy  in  ex- 
pressing emotions  in  a  way  that  was  intelligible 
to  the  masses,  we  must  not  overlook  the  real 
difficulty  and  merit  of  discovering  a  musical 
way  to  the  hearts  of  men,  for  not  every  great 
composer  has  been  successful  with  h}Tnn  tunes." 

In  Joseph  Barnby,  Dykes  has  a  formidable  Banfby 
rival  in  popular  appreciation.  By  many,  espe-  iUlf, 
cially  professional  musicians,  Barnby  is  consid- 
ered the  superior.  Barnby  was  somewhat  of  a 
free  lance  in  Church  music  and  vigorously  de- 
fended his  ideas.  His  position  will  be  best  un- 
derstood through  the  following  excerpt  from  the 
preface  to  his  ^^Original  Tunes  to  Popular 
Hymns,"  for  use  in  Church  and  Home,  pub- 
lished in  1869,  and  containing  about  fifty  hymn 
tunes : 

"If  the  outward  form  into  which  these 
tunes  have  been  thrown  be  likely  to  be  cen- 
sured, much  more  so  I  fancy  is  the  modern 
feeling  in  which  they  are  conceived.  The 
terms  effeminate  and  maudlin,  with  others,  are 
freely  used  nowadays  to  stigmatize  such  new 
tunes  as  are  not  direct  imitations  of  old  ones. 
And  yet  it  has  always  appeared  strange  to  me 
that  musicians  should  be  found  who,  whilst  ad- 
mitting that  seventeenth  century  tunes  were  very 
properly  in  what  we  may  call  the  natural  idiom 
of  the  period,  will  not  allow  nineteenth  century 
ones  to  be  written  in  the  idiom  of  the  present 
day.     You  may  imitate  and  plagiarize  the  old 


34  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

tunes  to  any  extent,  and  in  all  probability  you 
will  be  spoken  of  as  one  who  is  'thoroughly  im- 
bued with  the  truly  devotional  spirit  of  the 
old  ecclesiastical  writers',  but  you  are  not  per- 
mitted upon  any  account  to  give  your  natural 
feelings  free  play;  or,  in  short,  to  write  spon- 
taneously. The  strangest  part  of  the  argument, 
however,  is  this:  that  whilst  you  are  urged  to 
imitate  the  old  works,  you  are  warned  in  the 
same  breath  that  to  succeed  is  altogether  with- 
out the  bounds  of  possibility.  The  question 
then  naturally  arises.  Would  it  not  be  better — 
though  at  the  risk  of  doing  feebler  things — 
to  follow  your  own  natural  style,  which,  at 
least,  would  possess  the  merit  of  truth,  and  to 
leave  the  task  of  endeavoring  to  achieve  an 
impossibility  to  those  who  prefer  it?  For  my 
part,  I  have  elected  to  imitate  the  old  masters 
in  their  independent  method  of  working,  rather 
than  their  works." 

Fourteen  years  later  in  publishing  a  second 
volume  of  his  "Original  Tunes/'  a  change  in  the 
public  temper  is  apparent  from  the  following 
remarks  of  the  composer:  "Happily  no  excuse 
is  needed  now  for  composing  hymn  tunes  in  the 
natural  style  and  idiom,  so  to  speak,  of  our 
own  time.  The  modern  hymn  tune  has  long 
ago  been  accepted  by  all  shades  of  religious 
opinion  as  a  valuable  aid  to  devotion,  l^or  has 
it  been  found  less  useful  as  a  means  of  driving 
out  the  arrangements  of  secular  airs  which, 
from  time  to  time,  have  threatened  to  make  their 
way  Vithin  the  borders  of  His  sanctuary.'  " 


HYMN  TUNES  35 

The  following  paragraph  is  also  of  much  in- 
terest :  ^'I  have  endeavoured  to  record  my  sense 
of  the  unusual  favor  bestowed  upon  the  first 
series  by  the  musicians  of  America,  professional 
and  amateur,  by  setting  to  music  nearly  twenty 
hymns  taken  from  the  "  'Lyra  Sacra  Ameri- 
cana.' " 

While  some  of  Barnby's  tunes  are  preemi- 
nently successful,  a  certain  number  of  them 
belong  in  the  category  known  as  ^^choir  tunes," 
that  is,  tunes  which  on  account  of  their  har- 
monic complexity  are  ill-adapted  for  congrega- 
tional use  and  better  suited  to  a  well-trained 
choir.  Occasionally  Barnby's  bias  for  chromatic 
harmonies  causes  awkward  or  difficult  intervals 
in  the  melody  or  the  other  parts  and  they  re- 
quire experienced  singers  to  do  them  justice. 
Their  difficulty  does  not  necessarily  militate 
against  their  abstract  worth  as  contributions  to 
modern  hymn  music,  as  they  are  no  more  com- 
plex than  many  of  the  German  chorales  of 
great  renown,  especially  those  which  have  been 
harmonized  by  Bach.  But  the  chorales  are  in- 
tended for  unison  singing  and  the  strong  dia- 
tonic melodies  are  particularly  suited  to  that 
purpose,  while  Barnby's  tunes,  as  a  rule,  will 
not  bear  unison  singing  on  account  of  a  strain 
of  elegance  which  borders  on  the  effeminate. 

From  the  musical  point  of  view  Barnby's 
work  is  unquestionably  interesting,  clever,  and 


36  MUSIC  IN  TEE  CHURCH 

effective  and  as  near  originality  as  one  could 
hope  for  in  a  hymn  tune.  His  harmonic  phrase- 
ology, so  to  speak,  is  borrowed  from  the  German 
and  English  part-song,  and  a  certain  expressive- 
ness is  gained  thereby  which  appeals  to  the  musi- 
cian. N^evertheless  one  feels  a  little  the  strain- 
ing after  originality  and  musical  effect,  and 
misses  the  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  cause 
and  the  unselfish  spontaneous  expression  of 
Monk  and  Dykes.  In  Barnby  one  is  apt  to  for- 
get the  words  while  enjoying  the  music,  while 
in  Dykes  one  is  apt  to  forget  the  music  in  its 
perfect  expression  of  the  text.  One  is  religious 
music,  the  other  musical  religion. 

If  we  compare  settings  of  the  same  hymn 
by  both  Dykes  and  Barnby — and  there  are  many 
such — a  calm,  dispassionate,  and  experienced 
judgment,  taking  into  account  both  the  literary 
and  musical  values,  will  pronounce  for  Dykes 
four  times  out  of  ^ve.  Barnby  seems  almost  to 
have  challenged  Dykes,  for  he  has  made  new 
tunes  to  words  which  bore  some  of  the  latter's 
most  popular  settings.  But  he  has  not  succeeded 
in  displacing  the  beloved  melodies  to  ^^Christian 
dost  thou  see  them,"  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,''  "I 
heard  the  Voice  of  Jesus  say,"  "Jesus,  lover  of 
my  soul,"  "Lead,  kindly  light,"  or  "Come  unto 
„  ^  ,  Me,  ye  weary."  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be 
tunes.  admitted  that  Barnby 's  Paradise  (1866)  is  be- 

(Na394).      coming  a  greater  favorite  than  Dykes',  and  in 


HYMN  TUNES  37 

the  burial  hjmn  Mar  Saba  to  "^tTow  the  labor-  ^0.24^2^ 
er's  task  is  o'er/'  Barnby  has  the  advantage.  j^s^®g^°^ 
While  both  have  contributed  settings  to  "Hark!   (No. 398). 
hark,  my  soul/'  which  appear  in  all  the  newer 
hymn  books,  neither  has  been  as  successful  as 
Smart  in  his  well-known  tune.     Barnby' s  fine  garum 
Saeum   (1868)   to  "For  all  the  saints"  is  in-   (No.itg). 
finitely  better  than  Dykes',  but  in  entering  the  f^o^gL 
lists  against  the  famous  Adeste  Fideles  to  "O 
come,  all  ye  faithful,"  he  is  only  partially  suc- 
cessful. 

A  typical  Barnby  tune  is  St.  Anselm  to   (no.bIV™ 
"O  One  with  God  the  Father,"  but  originally 
written  for  "0  day  of  rest  and  gladness."     It 
has  a  well-marked  individuality  and  makes  an 
effective    processional.     A    similar    but    more  _    , 
striking  tune  is  Jordan  to  "O  God,  in  Whose   (No.  211). 
all-searching  eye,"   originally  set  to   "Sing  to 
the  Lord  a  joyful  song."    In  his  wedding  hymn 
"O  perfect  Love"    (called  both  Sandrinoham  ham!'^*"^ 
and  Fife)  he  strikes  a  more  practical  vein  from   ^  °'  ^^^^* 
the  congregational  point  of  view,  and  gives  an 
excellent   tune,    full   of   warmth    and   feeling.   Holy  Trinity 
Holy  Trinity  (1861)  to  "Lord,  lead  the  way  st.  Andrew 
the  Saviour  went,"  and  St.  Andrew  to  "The 
Cross  is  on  our  brow"  are  good  examples  of 
tuneful,  simple  melodies.     Barnby  half  apolo- 
gizes  for  the   chromatic   harmonies   in   Holy 
Trinity  by  explaining  that  it  was  written  for  a 


38 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Adoro  Te 
(No.  600). 


Cloisters 
(No.  496). 


Laudes 
Domini 
(No.  445). 


Merrial 
(No.  535). 


church  where  unison  singing  was  adopted. 
Adoro  te^  or  as  Barnby  himself  calls  it,  St. 
Chrysostom  (1872),  to  "Jesus,  my  Lord,  mj 
my  God,  my  all,"  and  Cloisters  (1868)  to 
"Lord  of  our  life,"  both  of  which  retain  their 
original  words,  are  fine  types  of  modern  tunes, 
being  interesting  from  every  point  of  view. 
One  of  his  best  and  most  distinctive  tunes  is 
Laudes  Domini  (1868)  to  "When  morning 
gilds  the  skies."  This  setting  is  most  inspir- 
ing and  would  seem  at  first  sight  to  be  a  "choir 
tune,"  but  that  it  is  not  beyond  the  powers  of 
many  congregations  has  been  amply  demon- 
strated by  practical  use.  An  illustration  of 
Barnby's  emphasis  on  harmony  is  his  much  ad- 
mired Merriae  (1868)  to  "N'ow  the  day  is 
over."  The  melody,  it  will  be  observed,  in  both 
the  first  and  last  of  the  four  lines  is  entirely 
confined  to  one  note,  the  interest  centering  on 
the  movement  of  the  alto,  tenor,  and  particu- 
larly the  bass.  J.  Spencer  Curwen,  of  tonic 
sol-fa  fame,  in  his  interesting  "Studies  in  Wor- 
ship Music"  decries  this  tendency  to  transfer 
the  interest  from  the  melody  to  the  other  parts. 
He  gives  a  clever  "^reductio  ad  dbsurdum'  of 
this  principle  by  writing  a  tune  consisting  of 
repeated  notes,  accompanied  by  rather  elaborate 
harmonies,  and  succeeds  in  making  quite  an  in- 


HYMN  TUNES  39 

teresting  piece  of  music."     A  closing  and  most 


Mr.  Curwen's  tune  is  as  follows 


"^^ 


r^rtcT 


^—f^ 


^ 


m 


t»-    -<g-    tg-    g-,g-  -f-   -^tg- 


.^»  ^ — ^ 


^=*^ 


:t=l==tt^ 


1 r 


^1^ 


^— g;^ 


i3 


I  ^1 


f^  -i.  J 


w=^ 


:gz=fe 


42- 


-?5^ 


1 ^ 


P 


^1 


SS: 


r^- 


-St- 


^ 


f" 


-^ — 


40 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


We  march  to 
victory 
(No.  514). 


John  Stainer 

(1840- 

1901). 


Cross  of 
Jesus 
(No.  359). 


Oxford 
(No.  258). 


Blessed 
Home 
(No.  679). 

Vesper 
(No.  9). 
Charity 
(No.  76). 


Beati 
(No.  175). 


characteristic  specimen  of  the  Barnby  style  is 
his  martial  tune,  The  Good  Fight  (1869),  to 
^^We  march,  we  march  to  victory/' 

Barnby  has  unquestionably  made  real  and 
important  additions  to  our  current  stock  of 
hymn  tunes,  and  if  he  is  open  to  adverse  criti- 
cism in  some  respects  it  is  only  because  "one 
star  differeth  from  another  in  glory." 

Sir  John  Stainer,  who  through  his  great 
ability  and  high  ideals  rehabilitated  the  music 
of  St.  PauFs  Cathedral,  London,  has  in  addi- 
tion to  many  notable  larger  works,  given  us 
some  fine  hymn  tunes.  One  of  his  best  is  taken 
from  his  "Crucifixion"  to  the  words  Cross  of 
Jesus  (1887),  and  so  named.  This  noble  and 
dignified  tune  most  admirably  fits  the  words  "In 
the  Cross  of  Christ  I  glory,"  to  which  it  is  set. 
Like  all  his  tunes,  it  has  very  solid  qualities, 
suggesting  a  mixture  of  the  German  chorale,  the 
early  English  style,  and  a  strain  of  modern  feel- 
ing. Another  tune,  Oxford  (1890),  to  "Lord, 
a  Saviour's  love  displaying,"  is  also  from  his 
"Crucifixion."  His  setting  of  "There  is  a 
blessed  home"  is  suggestive  of  Barnby's  influ- 
ence. Vesper  to  "Holy  Father,  cheer  our 
way,"  and  Charity  (1874)  to  "Gracious  Spirit, 
Holy  Ghost,"  have  good,  wearing,  every-day 
qualities.  The  fine  tune  to  "The  saints  of 
God!  their  conflict  past"  is  called  both  Beati 


HYMN  TUNES  41 

and  All   Saixts   in  Hut  chins'    Hymnal,   but 
Stainer  himself  calls  it  Eest." 

The    tune    in    point,    in    its    strength    and 
straightforwardness,   makes   an   acceptable   set- 
ting for  Kipling's  Eecessional.     Magdalexa  to  ^f.'^lJs")* 
"I  could  not  do  without  Thee,"  and  Coxtkitiox  contrition 
to"0  the  bitter  shame  and  sorrow"  are  both  ster-   ^^°-  ^^2^- 
ling   tunes.     Stainer's   melodies   have   not   the 
seductive  curves  of  Barnby,  nor  the  appeal  of 
Dykes  or  Monk,  but  they  have  an  inherent  hon- 
esty and  worth  that  will  in  time  win  general 
recognition.     A  collection  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  of  his  tunes  is  published. 

There  is  one  more  prominent  name  in  con- 
nection with  modem  English  hymn  tunes  and  Arthur 
that  is  Arthur  Seymour  Sullivan.     His  tunes  luuTvTn 
are  of  somewhat  uneven  quality,  certain  of  them  1900)' 
being  excellent,  while  others  are  but  a  close  re- 
move from  the  ordinary,  but  all  are  popular,  as 
Sullivan  is  nothing  if  not  tuneful.     Among  his  0  Bona 
better  tunes  are  O  Boxa  Pateia  to  "For  thee,   (No.  407) . 
O  dear,  dear  countrv,"  Ultor  Omxipotexs  to  omnipotens 
"God  the  All-Merciful,"  Lux  Eoi  (1874)  to  the  luxEo?^' 
Easter  hymn  "Alleluia !   Alleluia !   hearts   and   st.  Edmund 
voices    heavenward    raise,"    and    St.    Edmtjxd   ^  ^-^-i*). 
(1872)   to  "ISTearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  and 


12  This  multiplication  of  names  makes  much  trouble  for 
the  hymn-tune  researcher.  If  the  authentic  name  of  a  tune 
is  not  at  hand,  the  average  hymn-book  compiler  will  invent 
a  name  of  his  own  rather  than  go  to  any  trouble  in  the 
matter. 


42 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Samuel 
(No.  568). 


Coena 
Domini 
(No.  220). 

Hanford 
(No.  341). 


St.  Kevin 
(No.  110). 


Angel  Voices 
(No.  304). 
St.  Gertrude 
(No.  516). 


John 
Baptiste 
Calkin 
(1827—). 


Camden 
(No.  253). 


Calkin 
(No.  208). 
Sefton 
(No.  454). 


"I'm  but  a  stranger  here."  His  tune,  Samuel 
(1874)  to  "Hushed  was  the  evening  hymn,"  is 
a  gem  of  quietness  and  peace,  and  his  Com- 
munion hymn,  Ccena  Domini^  to  "Draw  nigh 
and  take  the  Body  of  the  Lord,"  and  his  Han- 
roED  (1872)  to  "Jesus,  my  Saviour,  look  on 
me"  are  both  beautiful  in  their  simplicity  and 
expressiveness.  On  the  contrary,  St.  Kevin^  to 
"Come,  ye  faithful,  raise  the  strain,"  his  tune 
to  "Angel  voices,  ever  singing,"  and  his  world- 
famous  St.  Gerteude  (1872)  to  "Onward, 
Christian  soldiers,"  are  open  to  criticism  for  a 
certain  "jigginess"  of  rhythm  and  cheapness  of 
melody  not  associated  with  ideal  tunes. 

John  Baptiste  Calkin  deserves  notice  for  his 
characteristic  Camdeist  to  "Fling  out  the  ban- 
ner, let  it  float."  The  tune  appears  as  Waltham 
AND  Doane  in  other  books.  The  setting  to 
"O  Father,  bless  the  children,"  and  named 
Calkin  (also  Savoy  Chapel)  is  a  fine  tune, 
as  is  also  Sefton  to  "Lift  up  your  heads,  ye 
mighty  gates." 


V.       AMEEICAN    TUNES. 


American 
Tunes. 


Lowell 
Mason 
(1792- 
1872). 


Turning  to  America  for  good  tunes  we  do 
not  find  a  very  extensive  list  nor  many  names  of 
special  prominence.  The  only  tune-writer 
widely  known  to  fame  as  such  is  Lowell  Mason. 
His  tunes,  doubtless,  filled  a  valuable  purpose 
in  their  day  and  generation;  and  he  rendered 


HYMN  TUNES  43 

invaluable  service  in  the  promotion  of  choral 
singing,  both  sacred  and  secular,  in  the  forma- 
tive days  of  musical  art  in  this  country.    Many 
of  his  tunes  are  becoming  relegated  to  the  past, 
but  several  of  his  melodies  bid  fair  to  live  for  fiJ^^s"?). 
some  time  to  come.     Two  of  his  best  known   ?no!^i86). 
tunes,    Hamburg   and    Olmutz,    are    arrange-  Missionary 
ments  from  Gregorian  tones.     His  Missioi^aky  fjj^^si). 
Hymn  (1823)  to  "From  Greenland's  icy  moun-  Bethany 
tains,"  his  Bethany  to  "I^earer,  my  God,  to  ^^q^^^^' 
Thee,"  and  his  Olivet   (1833)  to  ''My  faith   (No.  345). 
looks  up  to  Thee,"  have  crossed  the  ocean  and 
gained    entrance    into    many    hymnals    there. 
They  are  certainly  excellent  examples  of  tunes 
constructed   from   the   simplest  materials   and 
deserve  respect  for  their  earnestness  and  adapta- 
bility to  ordinary  use.     ISText  to  Lowell  Mason,   ^^atcheider 
William    Batchelder    Bradbury   has   been    our  ?[|igl^^ 
most    popular    and    prolific    tune-writer.     His   ises). 
tune,    AuGHTON^    to    ''He    leadeth    me "    and  ^^^«^*°^^, 

'  /  '  .  (No.  616). 

Zephye  to   "With  broken  heart   and   contrite  zephyr 

(No.  87). 

sigh"   will   doubtless   remain   long  in   popular 
favor. 

Horatio  Parker,  Professor  of  Music  at  Yale,   Horatio 

.  Parker 

represents  the  other  extreme  of  American  hymn  (ises— ). 
music.  He  has  contributed  a  number  of  noble 
tunes  which  are  conceived  in  a  broad  style,  and 
which,  perhaps,  look  a  little  into  the  future  with 
their  bold  harmonies  and  unconventional  pro- 
gressions.   Hutchins'  Hymnal,  to  which  Parker 


44  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

acted  as  musical  adviser,  contains  eleven  of  his 
tunes,  while  the  edition  of  our  Hymnal  edited 
by  Parker  himself  contains  thirty.  Like 
Stainer,  Parker  refrains  as  a  rule,  from  writing 
new  tunes  to  well-known  hymns  already  sup- 
plied with  tunes  satisfactory  alike  to  musician 
and  amateur,  and  which  have  accumulated  a  tra- 
ditional value.  This  fact  confines  a  number  of 
his  tunes  to  texts  that  are  rarely  used  or  used 
only  upon  special  occasions.  For  this  reason 
they  have  but  small  cha];ice  to  gain  public  favor. 
Parker  is  in  his  element  when  setting  to  music 
hymns  of  a  grandiose  style,  and  these  he  sup- 
plies with  tunes  of  great  breadth  and  striking 
characteristics.  He  seeks  for  rhythmical  variety 
without  loss  of  dignity,  richness  of  harmony 
without  loss  of  strength,  and  melodic  originality 
without  loss  of  grace.  He  delights  in  a  bold 
transition  in  the  middle  of  his  tunes  and  in- 
dulges himself  until  it  becomes  almost  a  man- 
nerism. Only  rarely  does  he  fall  into  familiar 
paths — a  most  difficult  thing  to  avoid  and  not 
transgress  the  natural  limitations  of  tune-writ- 

13 

mg. 
Foundation  ^  characteristic  example  of  Parker's  style  is 

(No.  636).     i;iig  Fouw^DATiON  (1894)  to  ^^How  firm  a  ioun- 


13  Parker's  Holy  Day  to  Come,  let  us  all  with  one  accord 
is  curiously  lilie  Beetlioven's  tune  Sardis  ;  and  Pro  Patria, 
to  Ood  of  our  fathers,  suggests  Harding's  Morning  Star. 
This,  however,  is  only  momentary,  as  it  soon  goes  on  its 
own  way,  and,  gathering  strength,  culminates  in  a  fine 
unison  passage. 


HYMN  TUNES  45 

dation."     This  is  a  noble  tune,  finely  balanced, 
and  with  an  onward  sweep  that  never  wavers. 
Similar   virile   tunes   but   on   more   expansive  ^^°^ 
lines  are  Kixg  of  Gloey  (1894)  to  "In  loud   (No.  482). 
exalted  strains,"  and  Mou]^rT  Siox  to  "O  'twas  (No^lg^sr 
a  joyful  sound  to  hear."     Other  examples  of 
masculine  vigor  are  Coukage  (1894)  to  "Fight  ^I^^qq^ 
the  good  fight,"  Auburndale  (1894)  to  "Christ  f^J^^J^f® 
is  our  Cornerstone  "  and  Vox  ^terxa  (1903)    Y?^ 

'  ^  ^     Sterna 

to  "Hark!  the  Voice  eternal."     His  dignified   (No. 35). 
setting  to  "Ancient  of  days"  (1903)  will  doubt-  Ancient 
less  have  difficulty  in  displacing  Jeffery's  popu-  (No.  sii). 
lar   but   rather   flamboyant  tune   to   the   same 
words. 

The  above  examples  are  for  the  most  part 
"choir  tunes"  and  Parker  has  not  hesitated  to 
publicly  criticise  himself  for  the  tendency  to 
write  for  the  choir  rather  than  for  the  people. 
That  he  stands  most  distinctly  for  congrega- 
tional singing  has  ample  testimony  in  the  fol- 
lowing quotation  from  the  preface  to  his  own 
edition  of  the  Hymnal : 

"In  more  than  twenty  years'  experience  as 
choirmaster  the  editor  has  not  observed  that 
improvement  in  congregational  singing  which 
is  so  earnestly  to  be  desired.  A  school  of 
hymnody,  which  many  call  sentimental,  has 
grown  up  and  flourished  during  the  past  twenty 
years  without  improving,  so  far  as  we  have 
observed,  either  the  quantity  or  the  quality  of 
congregational    singing.     We   may    almost    be- 


46 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Brannen- 
burg 
(No.  654). 

Jesu  Pastor 
(No.  534). 
Stella 
(No.  538). 
Bude 
(No.  277). 


lieve  that  our  grandfathers  had  better  Church 
music  for  the  people  than  we  have.  If  we  may 
accept  the  saying  of  competent  observers,  they 
had  certainly  more  and  better  singing,  under 
the  influence  of  the  singing  schools  in  what 
may  be  called  the  later  Lowell  Mason  time,  in 
the  form  of  service  common  to  the  most  of 
New  England,  than  is  usually  to  be  heard  at 
present.  But  signs  are  now  discernible  of  a 
desire  for  a  healthier,  sturdier,  more  manly  feel- 
ing in  hymns  and  tunes.  These  signs  are  un- 
mistakable and  widespread,  and  are  most  grati- 
fying evidences  of  the  improvement  in  public 
taste.  Lovers  of  hymnody  no  longer  seek 
sensuous  pleasure  in  rhythm  and  harmony,  de- 
sired naturally  enough  by  the  very  young,  but 
look  rather  for  convincing  earnestness  and  so- 
briety of  feeling.  Clearly  we  need  not  more 
tunes,  but  better  ones,  attaining  a  higher 
standard  of  musical  worth  and  dignity." 

Parker  can  also  write  tunes,  and  good  ones, 
of  a  congregational  character  as  witness  his 
beautiful  setting,  Bkann^enbueg  (1903)  to 
'^More  love  to  Thee,  O  Christ,"  his  tender  and 
simple  Jesu  Pastor  (1903)  to  "Jesus,  tender 
Shepherd,  hear  me,"  his  graceful  and  appealing 
Stella  (1903)  to  "All  my  heart  this  night  re- 
joices," and  his  melodious  Bude  (1903)  to 
"Thou  Who  with  dying  lips."" 

From  other  purely  American  sources  we 
have  but  little  of  real  value  or  that  promises  to 


1*  These  four  tunes,  together  with  Vox  JEterxa  and  An- 
cient OF  Days,  are  in  Parlier's  own  hymnal. 


EYMl^  TUNES  47 

be  a  permanent  addition  to  our  hymnals.     We 
are  indebted  to  Americanized  Englishmen  for 
some  excellent  tunes.     Prominent  among  them 
is  the  Eev.  J.  S.  B.  Hodges  of  Baltimore,  who  H^dg^es^-  ^• 
came  here  in  his  early  youth.     His  setting  to    <i83o— ). 
"O  day  of  rest  and  gladness,"  called  Hodges,   ^o5J|). 
compares    favorably    with    standard    English 
tunes,  and  his  Eucharistic  Hymn,  ''Bread  of  the   H^n'^^***' 
world,"  has  moved  many  hearts  by  its  earnest   (No.  225). 
simplicity.     The  tune  Beistol  to  "Hark!  the  ^J^^f^^L 
glad  sound !  the  Saviour  comes,"  is  by  his  father,  ^^^ 
Edward  Hodges,  who  came  to  this  country  in  ^o^ges 
1838   and  during  his  incumbency  as  organist  i876). 
of  Old  Trinity  in  'New  York,  was  the  first  to 
introduce  the  Cathedral  style  of  service  into 
this  country.     A  most  worthy  successor  to  Dr. 
Hodges  is  Dr.  Arthur  H.  Messiter,  also  English  Arthur  h. 

^  .    .  Messiter 

born,  whose  fine  tune  Marioi^  to  "Reioice,  ye   (I834— ). 

.      ,  ,,  ,  .  ,  ,         "^         .\*^       Marion 

pure  m  heart,    has  met  with  general  recognition   (No.  520). 
and  use. 

The  composition  of  hymn  tunes  is  at  once  composition 
the  simplest  and  most  difficult  of  tasks.  Any  tunes, 
tyro  in  the  study  of  harmony  can  put  together 
agreeable  chord  progressions  allied  to  a  singable 
melody,  and  amateurs  are  disposed  to  think 
that  this  constitutes  a  hymn  tune.  Such  as 
these  are  turned  out  by  thousands.  Well  worn 
phrases  from  good  tunes  are  revamped  after  the 
manner  of  a  rag-carpet,  and  their  very  familiar- 
ity,  which   breeds   contempt  in  the   musician, 


48  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

gives  them  a  popular  vogue,  for  they  are  both 
easy  to  learn  and  easy  to  sing.  Fortunately  the 
cheap  tune  is  usually  associated  with  cheap 
words,  and  our  Church  is  saved  from  a  deluge 
of  inanity  both  in  words  and  music  by  its  wise 
provision  which  permits  nothing  but  duly  au- 
thorized hymns  to  be  sung.  While  we  thus  es- 
cape the  maudlin  sentiment  of  the  Gospel  hymn- 
tune  we  are  by  no  means  free  from  the  musical 
dabblers.  upstart  who  cannot  appreciate  sterling  worth, 
and  to  whom  the  value  of  tradition  is  nothing. 
He  feels  called  upon  to  write  new  tunes  to  our 
most  treasured  hymns,  and  worse  still,  he  suc- 
ceeds in  having  them  sung ;  and  not  infrequently 
they  find  their  way  into  standard  hymnals. 
They  are  always  "taking"  in  the  popular  sense, 
and  apt  to  have  sensational  features.  Proces- 
sional hymns  are  the  favorites,  for  a  marching 
rhythm  makes  the  first  appeal  to  elementary 
musical  instincts.  A  formula  for  such  a  tune 
would  consist  of  a  jingling  rhythm  recurring 
with  deadly  regularity,  a  melody  gaily  moving 
along  the  line  of  least  resistance,  and  a  few 
"barber  shop"  chords  to  help  out  the  climax, 
which  will  be  greatly  heightened  if  some  of  the 
sopranos  sustain  a  high  tone  in  the  refrain — for 
there  must  be  a  refrain!  People  will  publish 
tunes  who  would  not^dream  of  publishing  verse, 
and  still  they  know  infinit-ely  more  of  the  rules 


HYMN  TUNES  49 

of  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  poetic  rhythm  than 
thej  know  of  harmony  or  composition. 

A  good  tune  is  most  difficult  to  write  because  S^Jod^tune 
within  very  circumscribed  limits  something  defi-  "^"t^^s- 
nite  and  characteristic  must  be  expressed. 
While  comparatively  simple  material  must  be 
used,  it  should  neither  be  commonplace  nor  remi- 
niscent. The  parts  must  be  in  convenient  range 
of  the  different  voices.  The  harmonic  frame 
must  not  be  too  elaborate  for  the  melodic  pic- 
ture. It  must  be  concise,  logical,  artistic,  and 
well-balanced.  It  must  have  sentiment  without 
sentimentality,  dignity  without  angularity.  It 
is  not  surprising,  then,  that  one  of  the  foremost 
of  American  composers  when  invited  to  con- 
tribute to  the  hymnal  of  a  leading  denomination 
declined  with  thanks,  excusing  himself  on  the 
ground  that  he  would  rather  write  a  sonata  than 
a  hymn  tune ! 

While  it  is  true  that  our  greatest  composers  Best  tunes 
have  rarely  turned  their  attention  to  hymn-tune  musicians, 
writing,  it  is  equally  true  that  our  best  tunes 
have  been  written  invariably  by  trained  musi- 
cians who,  at  the  same  time,  were  earnest,  de- 
vout Christians.  And  this  suggests  the  query, 
Is  not  the  first  requisite  of  the  Church  com- 
poser a  reverent  spirit :  reverence  for  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  reverence  for  literary  values,  rev- 
erence for  musical  expression  ? 

The  criticism  aimed  at  the  amateurish  dab-  dabblers!"*^ 


50  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

bier  in  hjmn-tune  writing  also  holds  good  in 
many  instances  in  the  profession,  for  many  mu- 
sicians dash  off  wretched  hymn  tunes  who  are 
excellent  performers,  teachers,  or  choirmasters 
but  who  have  had  no  special  training  in  compo- 
sition or  in  the  ethics  of  good  Church  music. 
A  most  curious  contradiction  is  the  fact  that 
musicians  who  have  the  highest  standards  when 
judging  the  work  of  others  and  whose  ideals  and 
taste  are  unquestioned,  seem  to  lose  their  view- 
point entirely  when  they  take  their  pen  in  hand, 
and  perpetrate  a  kind  of  music  they  would  not 
tolerate  in  others. 

If  these  would-be  Church  composers  would 
stop  to  consider  that  the  language  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  of  the  Prayer  Book  are  models  of 
purity  and  refinement,  that  the  hymns  in 
use  with  us  are  for  the  most  part  the  work 
of  trained  and  scholarly  minds,  and  that  any- 
thing short  of  these  high  standards  would  be 
unseemly  to  offer  to  Almighty  God,  they  might 
perhaps  realize  that  music  as  a  worthy  consort 
deserves  equally  serious  consideration. 
Essentials  of  A  good  tuuc  is  judged  by  precisely  the  same 
standards  as  a  good  hymn.  The  thought  must 
be  worthy,  the  expression  adequate,  the  work- 
manship above  criticism,  and  the  artistic  sense 
apparent.  Logic,  order,  proportion,  and  per- 
spective must  all  be  there,  as  well  as  an  assuring 
sense  of  mastery  in  all  the  details.     If  we  are  to 


a  good  tune. 


HYMN  TUNES  51 

wed  music  to  worthy  words  the  work  of  compo- 
sition is  not  to  be  entered  into  unadvisedly,  but 
reverently,  discreetly,  and  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord. 

This  chapter  will  best  be  brought  to  a  close 
by  a  quotation  from  that  admirable  and  most 
suggestive  book,  ^^Musical  Ministries  in  the 
Church,"  by  Waldo  Selden  Pratt,  Professor 
of  Music  in  the  Hartford  Theological  Semi- 
nary. Professor  Pratt  sums  up  the  situation 
in  the  following  appreciative  way,  and  one 
scarcely  knows  which  to  admire  the  more,  his 
broad  and  sure  grasp  of  the  whole  question,  or 
the  beauty  and  completeness  of  his  powers  of 
expression : 

"Our  Christian  hymns  are  surely  among  the 
most  powerful  agencies  we  have  for  developing 
the  religious  sentiment  of  our  people.  The  best 
of  them  are  exquisitely  beautiful  in  form  and 
imagery,  are  magnetic  and  noble  in  tone  and 
spirit,  and  deal  habitually  with  topics  and  as- 
pects of  truth  that  all  lie  close  to  the  heart  of 
the  GospeL  As  a  rule,  they  spring  out  of  re- 
ligious experience  at  its  best  and  they  tend  to 
lift  experience  to  its  highest  levels.  The  very 
cream  of  truth  and  of  soul-life  is  gathered  into 
them.  They  contain  the  refined  riches,  the 
precious  essences,  the  cut  and  polished  jewels 
of  Christianity  in  all  the  ages.  They  tend  to 
be  superlative  and  ideal  in  both  thought  and 
expression,  simply  because  so  often  they  come 
from  souls  of  rare  endowment  and  unusual 
spiritual  attainment.     They  therefore  push  on 


52  MUmC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

far  beyond  what  most  of  us  could  perhaps  our- 
selves say  in  sober  truth.  But  they  proclaim 
and  represent  nothing  but  what  in  our  hearts 
we  long  for  and  aspire  unto.  They  often 
ascend  into  the  realm  of  ecstacy,  and  speak  as 
of  seeing  the  invisible  and  participating  in  the 
inaccessible.  Herein  they  are  truly  prophetic, 
the  records  of  the  insight  and  intuition  and 
rapture  of  seer  and  saint.  These  sublime  qual- 
ities, of  course,  are  not  possessed  by  all  hymns, 
but  they  mark  so  many  that  in  these  days  it  is 
possible  for  practical  hymn-singing  to  confine 
itself  to  such  continually  if  it  chooses. 

"It  is  by  no  means  as  commonly  seen  as  it 
ought  to  be  that  entirely  parallel  claims  may 
safely  be  made  for  much  of  the  tune  music  that 
belongs  to  our  hymns.  The  best  of  it,  espe- 
cially in  recent  periods,  is  as  beautifully  ar- 
ticulated as  the  finest  sonnets  or  the  most  ex- 
quisite miniatures,  is  rich  and  thrilling  in  total 
effect,  and  is  charged  at  every  point  with  the 
same  spiritual  intensity  as  the  hymns  that 
have  called  it  forth.  Most  of  our  finer  tunes 
are  written  by  men  of  devout  character  and 
sympathies,  and  are  plainly  marked  by  reli- 
gious fervor  and  elevation.  If  we  accord  the 
praise  of  being  true  revelators  to  Wesley, 
Cowper,  Montgomery,  Bishop  How,  Ellerton, 
Eay  Palmer,  and  many  others  of  the  same  high 
rank,  we  should  be  ready  to  give  similar  ac- 
knowledgment to  the  scores  of  musical  artists 
who  have  wrought  side  by  side  with  them  in 
the  same  noble  ministry,  like  Gauntlett  and 
Dykes  and  Barnby  and  Sullivan  and  Stainer, 
not  to  name  others  of  other  schools.  Popular 
appreciation  of  the  interior  beauty  and  nobility 


HYMN  TUNES  53 

of  tunes  falls  behind  that  of  the  value  of 
hymns  simply  because  of  popular  ignorance, 
and  even  musical  critics  are  often  perversely 
blind  to  the  triumph  involved  in  writing  a 
really  excellent  hymn  tune.  Sooner  or  later, 
however,  the  one  will  be  valued  not  less  than 
the  other." 


II. 

Congregational   Singing. 

^rture  "^^^  hymn-singing  of  the  Christian  Church 

had  its  roots  in  the  psalmody  of  the  Hebrew 
people,  and  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to 
trace  in  a  cursory  manner  its  development 
through  the  crude  but  elaborate  music  of  the 
Jews,  the  hymn  singing  of  the  early  Christians, 
the  plainsong  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
the  chorales  of  the  Lutherans,  the  psalm  singing 
of  the  Calvinists  and  Puritans,  and  the  spiritual 
songs  of  the  Wesleyans,  as  well  as  through  the 
practice  of  our  own  Church,  until  we  arrive  at 
modern  hymnody,  which  will  receive  special 
consideration  as  to  its  meaning  and  application 
to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  America. 

I.      HISTORY   OF    HYMNODY. 

In  Exodus  15  we  read  as  follows: 

Hebrew  "Then  sang  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel 

this  song  unto  the  Lord,  and  spake,  saying,  I 
will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  He  hath  triumphed 
gloriously:  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  He 
thrown  into  the  sea. 


COISIGREQATIOI^AL  8INGING  55 

"And  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the  sister  of 
Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand;  and  all  the 
women  went  out  after  her  with  timbrels  and 
with  dances. 

"And  Miriam  answered  them,  Sing  ye  imto 
the  Lord,  for  He  hath  triumphed  gloriously: 
the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the 


Hebrew 
congrega- 


While  we  are  uncertain  as  to  the  precise 
meaning  of  the  word  "singing"  in  the  above  Sn^ng. 
quotation  (for  the  term  may  have  signified 
naught  but  a  shouting  or  crude  chanting),  yet  it 
seems  quite  possible  that  congregational  singing 
in  well-defined  melodies  was  a  settled  habit 
among  the  Hebrews,  even  in  the  time  of  Moses 
and  Miriam,  for  the  lifting  up  of  the  voice  of 
the  populace  in  song  was  doubtless  a  primitive 
instinct  in  the  heart  of  man.  But  it  was  not 
alone  in  vocal  strains  that  Israel  praised  the 
Lord,  for  we  read  in  the  account  of  the  proces- 
sion of  the  Ark  that  "David  and  all  Israel 
played  before  God  with  all  their  might,  and  instmmentai 
with  singing,  and  with  harps,  and  with  psal-  °^^^^°* 
teries,  and  with  timbrels,  and  with  cymbals, 
and  with  trumpets."     (I.  Chron.  13:  8.) 

To  prepare  for  the  Temple  service  there  was  SS!* 
formulated  an  elaborate  musical  plan  enlisting 
no  less  than  4,000  singers  and  players,  all  of 
whom  were  probably  males.  This  vast  body 
was  under  the  instruction  of  288  skilled  musi- 
cians and  a  head  precentor  or  "master  of  song." 


oG  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

At  the  dedication  of  the  Temple  we  read  the 
following  interesting  account  of  the  music  in 
II.  Chron.  5  :  12  : 

"Also  the  Levites  which  were  the  singers, 
all  of  them  of  Asaph,  of  Heman,  of  Jeduthun, 
with  their  sons  and  their  brethren,  being  ar- 
rayed in  white  linen,  having  cymbals  and  psal- 
teries and  harps,  stood  at  the  east  end  of  the 
altar  and  with  them  an  hundred  and  twenty 
priests  sounding  with  trumpets. 

"It  came  even  to  pass,  as  the  trumpeters 
and  the  singers  were  as  one,  to  make  one  sound 
to  be  heard  in  praising  and  thanking  the  Lord: 
and  when  they  lifted  up  their  voice  with  the 
trumpets  and  cymbals  and  instruments  of  mu- 
sic, and  praised  the  Lord,  saying.  For  He  is 
good:  for  His  mercy  endureth  forever:  that 
then  the  house  was  filled  with  a  cloud,  even 
the  house  of  the  Lord." 

The  account  establishes  beyond  a  doubt  the 
great  importance  attached  to  music  by  the  Jews. 
We  might  infer  that  with  the  development 
of  an  official  band  of  performers,  the  participa- 
tion of  the  people  in  the  services  of  the  inner 
Temple  was  more  or  less  restricted.  In  the  outer 
courts,  however,  it  seems  that  congregational 
singing  was  more  generally  cultivated,  the 
voices  of  women  and  children  joining  in  the 
popular  celebrations. 

The  extensive  use  of  instruments,  the  trum- 
pets for  interludes,  the  pipes  and  stringed  in- 
struments for  accompaniments,  the  cymbals  to 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  57 

mark  the  rhytlim,  all  go  to  indicate  a  consider- 
able development  in  concerted  music.  Then 
again  the  psalms  are  unquestionably  intended 
for  the  purposes  of  song.  The  very  nature  of 
their  parallel  construction  at  once  suggests  anti- 
phonal  singing,  either  between  precentor  and 
congregation,  or  between  answering  choirs.^ 

As  to  the  character  of  the  music  of  the  Jews  ^f^^^lH^ 
we  are  quite  ignorant.  The  accent  marks  music, 
which  exist  in  ancient  manuscripts  are  supposed 
to  have  been  guides  or  helps  to  the  singers  in  re- 
membering the  melodies.  Their  exact  use  has 
never  been  solved,  and  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
if  a  solution  to  their  mystery  will  ever  be  found. 
The  music  may  have  been  of  the  most  primitive 
character,  consisting  of  chant-like  intonations 
and  cadences;  or,  as  some  Jewish  authorities 
contend,  it  may  have  been  of  a  more  developed 
nature  and  the  germ  or  source  of  the  plainsong 
music  that  rose  to  such  heights  of  beauty  and 
perfection  in  the  Latin  Church.  Traditional 
melodies  which  the  Jews  claim  as  authentic 
Temple  music  are  still  to  be  heard  in  the  syna- 
gogues of  to-day,  but  these  melodies  vary  widely 
in  different  countries,  agreeing  only  in  certain 


1  The  psalms  constitute  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  riches 
for  the  musical  composer  down  to  the  present  day,  and 
excerpts  from  them  form  the  text  of  our  greatest  anthems 
and  cantatas.  They  occupy  an  important  place  in  the 
liturgy  of  all  Christian  Churches,  and  in  their  metrical  ver- 
sion they  are  an  important   part  of  our  hymnody. 


58  MUSIC  7.Y  THE  CHURCH 

peculiar  melodic  progressions  which  are  unmis- 
takably of  Oriental  origin. 
Christian  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  centuries  of  Christianity  we  find 

music.  ^j^  exact  parallel  to  the  development  of  music 

as  it  occurred  among  the  Jews.  Before  the 
crystallization  of  forms  of  worship  in  the  early 
Church  the  people  joined  universally  and 
heartily  in  the  singing  of  the  psalms  and  hymns. 
This  was  following  the  injunction  of  St.  Paul 
(Eph.  5 :  19 ;  Col.  3 :  16)  in  "Speaking  to  your- 
selves in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs."  As  St.  Paul  makes  this  triple  allusion 
in  his  letters  both  to  the  Ephesians  and  the 
Colossians  it  is  thought  that  in  "psalms"  he  re- 
fers to  the  psalms  of  the  psalter,  in  "hymns"  to 
the  canticles  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  in 
"spiritual  songs"  to  hymns  composed  by  the 
Christians  themselves. 

We  read  of  the  early  Christians  assembling 
before  daylight  and  singing  hymns  alternately 
to  Christ,  and  of  employing  in  their  meetings 
"two  choirs,  one  of  men  and  one  of  women. 
From  each  of  these  a  person  of  majestic  form 
was  chosen  to  lead.  These  then  chanted  hymns 
in  honor  of  God,  composed  in  different  measures 
and  modulations,  now  singing  together,  and  now 
answering  each  other  by  turns."  This  last  prac- 
tice suggests  the  antiphonal  music  of  the  Jews, 
from  whom  it  was  no  doubt  derived.  That  the 
music  was  not  always  of  the  simplest  or  most 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  59 

suitable  character  is  indicated  by  the  action  of 
Clement  of  Alexandria  (died  220  A.  D.)  who 
forbade  the  use  of  certain  melodies  because  of 
chromatic  intervals. 

Later    on    the     Church    authorities    were  JiJ^Sga 
obliged  in  self-defence  to  confine  the  singing  heresy.^' 
of  the  people  to  certain  psalms  and  canticles  and 
to  interdict  the  promiscuous  singing  of  hymns, 
as  it  was  such  a  fruitful  source  of  spreading  se- 
dition and  heresy. 

In  Gibbon  we  read : 

"The  Arians  had  been  forbidden  by  the  Em- 
peror Theodosius  to  have  places  of  worship 
within  the  city.  But  on  Saturdays  and  Sun- 
days and  great  festivals  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  assembling  outside  the  gates,  then  coming 
into  the  city  in  procession  at  sunset,  and  all 
night,  in  the  porticoes  and  open  places,  singing 
Arian  hymns  and  anthems  with  choruses. 
Chrysostom  feared  that  many  of  the  simple 
and  ignorant  people  would  be  drawn  from  the 
faith.  He  therefore  organized  nightly  proces- 
sions of  orthodox  hymn-singers,  who  carried 
crosses  and  lights,  and  with  music  and  much 
pomp  rivalled  the  efforts  of  the  heretics.  E-iots 
and  bloodshed  were  the  consequence.  Very  soon 
an  Imperial  edict  put  a  stop  to  Arian  hymn- 
singing  in  public.  The  use,  however,  of  hymns 
in  nocturnal  services  of  the  Church  became  es- 
tablished." 

Congregational  singing  was  thus  in  general  Jlonli  sfng- 
use  in  the  early  days  of  the  Church,  but,  as  was  ^^j^jjj^® 
the  case  in  the  Temple  music,  with  the  develop-  church. 


60 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


A  hymn  as 
defined  by 
St.  Augus- 
tine. 


Tonus 
Peregrinus. 


ment  of  the  liturgy  and  ritual  of  the  Roman 
Church  and  the  perfecting  of  their  ecclesiastical 
organization,  the  people's  part  in  the  services 
was  finally  reduced  to  a  few  responses.  The 
singing  of  the  psalms,  canticles,  hymns,  and 
Mass  numbers  was  entrusted  to  trained  chor- 
isters who  were  ecclesiastics  of  a  minor  order, 
and  thus  the  performance  of  music  in  the 
Roman  Church  became  largely  a  clerical  func- 
tion. Hymn-singing  in  all  probability  contin- 
ued to  be  indulged  in  by  the  laity  in  the  home 
circle,  in  private  worship,  and  perhaps  at  spe- 
cial popular  religious  functions. 

St.  Augustine  thus  defines  a  hymn: 
^'Hymns  are  the  praise  of  God  with  song; 
hymns  are  songs  containing  the  praise  of 
God.  If  there  be  praise  and  it  be  not  God's 
praise,  it  is  not  a  hymn.  If  there  be  praise  and 
that  God's  praise,  and  it  be  not  sung,  it  is  not 
a  hymn.  To  constitute  a  h^rmn,  then,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  there  be  these  three  things:  praise, 
the  praise  of  God,  and  song." 

Under  this  definition  psalms  and  special  acts 
of  praise,  such  as  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  the 
Magnificat,  etc.,  were  termed  hymns.  The  hymn 
referred  to  as  sung  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apos- 
tles at  the  Last  Supper  was  doubtless  the  Hallel, 
which  included  Psalms  113th  to  the  118th,  and 
it  is  quite  possible  that  the  psalm  "When  Israel 
came  out  of  Egypt,"  was  sung  to  the  Peregrine 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  61 

tone,  a  Gregorian  which  is  used  to  this  day  in 
many  of  our  churches  and  which  has  been  asso- 
ciated w4th  that  psalm  since  the  earliest  musical 
records.  The  Te  Deum  is  frequently  referred  TeDeum. 
to  as  the  Ambrosian  hymn,  and  tradition  has  it 
that  at  the  baptism  of  St.  Augustine  on  Easter 
night,  387,  St.  Ambrose  and  his  distinguished 
convert  improvised  the  great  hymn  in  alternate 
strophes.  The  Te  Deum,  however,  is  of  Greek 
origin  in  all  probability. 

Metrical  hymns  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  J^j^^g^^ 
word  were  not  fully  developed  until  about  the 
fifth  century,  and  St.  Ambrose  is  credited  with 
their  introduction  into  the  Western  Church. 
They  became  very  popular  in  the  succeeding 
centuries,  a  vast  number  being  written  by  monks 
and  priests  of  the  Roman  communion.  Of 
these  some  3,500  have  been  traced  and  cata- 
logued by  specialists  in  hymnody.  Some  of  our 
best  known  hymns  come  from  the  mediaeval 
Latin  Church  poets,  such  as  ^^Jerusalem,  the  LauJf^^^ 
golden,"  'Tor  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country,"  ^ymns. 
''Brief  life  is  here  our  portion,"  "Jesus,  the  very 
thought  of  Thee,"  "Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls 
inspire,"  "O  Sacred  Head  surrounded,"  "The 
day  is  past  and  over,"  and  many  others. 

When  the  Christian  religion  invaded  Ger-  uolT^^' 
many    the    Roman    Church    authorities    found  SeSany^ 
themselves  compelled  to  reckon  with  the  innate 
love  of  the  German  people  for  music.    This  love 


62 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Lutheran 
hymns. 


The  German 
chorale. 


had  long  expressed  itself  in  ^ ^folk-songs,"  both 
in  their  secular  and  religious  relations.  As 
early  as  1195  we  read  of  a  choral  society  being 
formed  in  Prague  for  the  study  of  spiritual 
songs,  and  in  the  thirteenth  century  popular 
songs  were  permitted  at  certain  church  festivals. 
But  this  was  a  far  cry  from  the  personal  ap- 
proach to  God  encouraged  by  Luther.  When  he 
maintained  the  right  of  laymen  to  participate 
in  public  worship  and  to  praise  God  through 
their  beloved  medium  of  song  and  in  their  na- 
tive tongue,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  knew 
no  bounds.  This  sudden  liberty  on  the  part  of 
the  people  to  freely  express  their  religious  emo- 
tions, combined  with  the  assurance  of  salvation 
by  faith  alone  without  priestly  intervention,  re- 
sulted in  a  veritable  flood  of  verse  and  melody. 
It  is  estimated  that  over  one  hundred  thousand 
hymns  have  been  written  in  Protestant  Germany 
alone,  and  their  accompanying  chorale  melodies 
number  many  thousands.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
hymn-singing  made  many  more  converts  to  the 
German  Evangelical  Church  than  did  the 
preaching. 

The  intense  love  of  Luther  for  music  and 
his  practical  knowledge  of  the  art,  together  with 
the  innate  musical  nature  of  his  followers  and 
their  reverent  attitude  toward  religion,  all  com- 
bined to  evolve  a  type  of  hymn  tune  which  for 
dignity,  breadth,  and  fundamental  worth  has  re- 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  63 

mained  unexcelled.  Skilled  musicians  busied 
themselves  with  arranging  and  composing  melo- 
dies, and  their  efforts  resulted  in  such  a  high 
standard  of  attainment,  and  such  a  correspond- 
ing elevation  of  public  taste,  that  the  Lutheran 
Church  has  never  suffered  from  trashy  or  un- 
worthy hymn  music. 

With  the  Calvinists  it  was  quite  different,  fining  of 
They  looked  upon  the  efforts  of  man  as  an  unfit  Calvinists. 
offering  to  Almighty  God,  and  they  therefore 
confined  their  singing  to  metrical  versions  of  the 
psalms  of  David.  As  to  music,  Calvin  ex- 
pressed himself  as  follows:  ^'Those  songs  and 
melodies  which  are  composed  for  the  mere  pleas- 
ure of  the  ear,  and  all  they  call  ornamental  mu- 
sic, and  songs  for  four  parts,  do  not  behoove  the 
majesty  of  the  church,  and  cannot  fail  to  greatly 
displease  God.''  In  consequence  the  tunes  se- 
lected were  of  a  sober  not  to  say  a  forbidding 
character.  Like  many  of  the  German  chorales, 
the  melodies  set  to  the  Genevan  Psalter  (as  the 
official  Calvinistic  psalm-book  was  called)  were 
taken  from  folk-songs,  but  of  French  origin. 
The  most  famous  of  these  tunes  is  that  known  as 
Old  Huxdked^  which  was  originally  sung  not  to  hundred 
the  hundredth  but  to  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty-fourth  psalm.  A  visitor  to  Geneva  in 
1557  gives  the  following  account  of  the  psalm- 
singing  of  the  Calvinists : 

"A  most  interesting-  sight  is  offered  in  the 


64 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Psalm 
singing  of 
Puritans. 


Sternhold 
and  Hopkins 
Psalm-book. 


city  on  the  week  days,  when  the  hour  of  the 
sermon  approaches.  As  soon  as  the  first  sound 
of  the  bell  is  heard  all  shops  are  closed,  all  con- 
versation ceases,  all  business  is  broken  off,  and 
from  all  sides  the  people  hasten  into  the  nearest 
meeting  house.  There  each  one  draws  from  his 
pocket  a  small  book  containing  the  psalms  with 
notes,  and  out  of  full  hearts,  in  the  native 
speech,  the  congregation  sings  before  and  after 
the  sermon.  Every  one  testifies  to  me  how 
great  consolation  and  edification  is  derived 
from  this  custom." 

Calvin's  abhorrence  of  ritual  and  his  detes- 
tation of  art  in  any  of  its  manifestations  as  an 
adjunct  to  religion,  including  both  organ  and 
choir,  found  sympathetic  response  in  both  the 
English  Puritans  and  the  Scotch  Presbyterians. 
Many  English  Protestants,  during  the  religious 
persecution  of  Mary,  fled  to  Geneva,  where 
they  fell  under  the  influence  of  Calvin.  Upon 
their  return  to  England  they  brought  with  them 
the  psalm-singing  habit.  Metrical  psalms  at 
once  sprang  into  enormous  favor,  not  only  with 
the  Nonconformists  but  in  the  Established 
Church  as  well.  Would-be  poets  not  only  versi- 
fied the  psalms,  but  the  canticles,  the  Creed,  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
"Rew  Testament  in  addition.  A  semi-official  ver- 
sion of  the  psalms  appeared  in  1562  under  the 
title : 

"The    Whole    Booke    of    Psalmes    collected 

into    English    metre,    by    T.    Sternhold,    J.    H. 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  65 

Hopkins,  and  otliers,  conferred  with  the  Ebrue, 
with  apt  notes  to  sing  them  withal.  Set  forth 
and  allowed  to  be  sung  in  all  churches,  of  all 
the  people  together,  before  and  after  Evening 
Prayer,  and  also  before  and  after  sermons,  and 
moreover  in  private  houses  for  their  godly 
solace  and  comfort,  laying  apart  all  ungodly 
songs  and  ballads,  which  tend  only  to  the  en- 
couraging of  vice  and  the  corrupting  of  youth." 

The  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  version,  known 
later  as  the  "old  version/'  despite  its  crude- 
ness  and  literalness,  enjoyed  immense  popu- 
larity and  was  not  displaced  until  1696,  when 
the  "new  version''  by  Tate  and  Brady  came  into  Brady, 
use,  a  version  which  sacrificed  the  ruggedness 
of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  for  weaker,  if  more 
graceful  lines,  ^ext  in  turn  came  Watts'  ver-  version, 
sion  to  which  he  gave  the  title  "Imitation  of  the 
Psalms  of  David  in  the  Language  of  the  iSTew 
Testament."  This  version  was  of  a  much  higher 
order  of  literary  and  poetic  merit  and  became 
popular  with  the  dissenters.  In  the  meantime, 
the  Scotch  Presbyterians  had  replaced  their  first 
Psalter  (a  combination  of  the  Genevan  Psalter, 
Sternhold  and  Hopkins  and  original  para- 
phrases) by  Rous'  Version,  which  appeared  in  version. 
1650  and  met  with  great  favor." 

2  It  may  be  of  interest  to  add  that  the  Genevan  Psalter 
passed  through  at  least  a  thousand  editions ;  that  it  was 
translated  into  the  Dutch,  German,  Italian,  Spanish,  Bo- 
hemian. Polish.  Latin,  and  Hebrew  Languages,  and  was  used 
even  by  the  Roman  Catholics.  Julian,  in  his  "Dictionary  of 
Hymnology,"  gives  a  list  of  326  versions  of  the  entire  150 
psalms  in  the  English  language  alone. 


66 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Ainsworth's 
version. 


Bay 
Psalm-book. 


•  'Lining 
out"  or 
"deacon- 
ing." 


The  Puritans  brought  with  them  to  this 
country  a  version  by  Ainsworth,  while  the 
Church  of  England  adherents  remained  faithful 
to  Sternhold  and  Hopkins.  In  1636  a  commit- 
tee of  Congregationalists  prepared  an  original 
transcription  of  the  psalms  into  verse  known  as 
the  Bay  Psalm-book,  and  later  as  the  !N"ew  Eng- 
land Version.'  Owing  to  a  scarcity  of  books 
there  arose  the  custom  of  ^^lining  out"  the 
metrical  psalms  in  l^ew  England,  and  a  device 
more  fatal  to  musical  effect  could  hardly  be 
imagined.  Each  line  of  the  psalm  was  first 
read  over  by  the  clerk  or  minister  and  then  sung 
by  the  congregation.  The  music  was  thus 
broken  up  into  disconnected  fragments  and  was 
apt  to  lose  its  identity.  In  fact  it  not  infre- 
quently happened  that  a  congregation  became 
^^side-tracked''  and  ended  with  a  tune  other  than 
the  one  "pitched"  at  the  start.  The  only  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  this  unhappy  custom  was  the 
fact  that  it  permitted  the  introduction  of  new 
hymns  without  the  expense  of  printing  them, 
and  it  was  no  doubt  due  to  this  habit  that  Watts 
wrote  a  new  hymn  for  over  two  hundred  con- 
secutive Sundays.  So  ingrained  was  this  custom 
of  "lining  out"  that  it  was  continued  even  after 
the  hymns  were  thoroughly  familiar  to  all  the 
congregation. 

A  word  as  to  the  tunes  used  to  the  metrical 


» This   passed   through   seventy   editions. 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  67 

psalms.  The  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  Psalter  Early  psaim 
of  1562  contained  forty  tunes,  mostly  in  com- 
mon metre,  for  all  but  twenty  of  the  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  psalms  were  in  that  metre.  The 
melody  only  was  printed  and  the  tunes  were  of 
rather  a  severe  type,  Old  Hundred  and  Dundee 
being  samples.  The  Scotch  Psalter  of  1635 
contained  one  hundred  and  forty-three  tunes 
from  French,  English,  and  German  sources. 
Among  the  dissenters  the  tunes  gradually  grew 
less  in  number  until  in  some  communities  they 
were  reduced  to  six  or  eight  in  number,  and 
these  attained  such  a  traditional  and  senti- 
mental value  among  the  ignorant  that  it  was 
considered  almost  heretical  to  use  other  music. 
This  restricted  repertoire  of  tunes,  together  with 
the  deadening  effect  of  "lining  out"  may  have 
been    responsible    for    the    decline    in    psalm-  DecUne 

,  .   ,     .        ,         .    ,  ,  T  of  psalm 

singing,  which  m  the  eighteenth  century  degen-  singing, 
erated  into  a  dull  and  lifeless  exercise.  The 
principle  of  individual  license  in  praising  God 
was  carried  to  such  an  absurd  extent  that  every 
one  claimed  the  right  to  sing  as  he  pleased,  and 
the  tunes  were  distorted  with  all  manner  of 
grotesque  turns  and  twists,  according  to  the 
whim  of  the  singer. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  l^oncon- 
formist  churches  organs  were  not  permitted — 
they  were  considered  an  abomination  unto  the 
Lord — and  there  were  no  trained  choirs,  conse- 


68 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Hymn 

singing 
of  the 
Wesleyans. 


Hymn 
singing 
in  the 

Established 
Church. 


Thomas 

Kavenscroft 

(15827- 

1635?). 

John 

Playford 

(1623- 

16937). 


qiiently  the  music,  such  as  it  was,  was  confined 
to  unison  singing.  In  the  midst  of  these  un- 
promising conditions  came  the  Wesleyan  move- 
ment, which  for  the  metrical  versions  of  the 
Psalms  then  in  use  substituted  the  fervent  re- 
ligious poetry  of  Charles  Wesley  and  his  asso- 
ciates. The  hymns  were  set  to  the  melodies  of 
popular  songs  and  found  immediate  and  wide- 
spread acceptance.  To  ^^sing  like  the  Method- 
ists" became  proverbial,  and  as  in  the  days  of 
Luther,  inspired  hymn  singing  again  demon- 
strated its  power  over  the  human  soul. 

In  the  meantime  the  Established  Church  re- 
mained true  to  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  but  the 
musical  situation  was  greatly  improved  by  the 
appearance  of  Ravenscroft's  book  of  tunes"  in 
1621,  an  excellent  collection  of  music  harmon- 
ized in  four  parts  in  musicianly  manner  and 
with  the  melody  in  the  tenor  part.  When  Tate 
and  Brady  came  into  vogue  Ravenscroft's  fine 
book  was  superseded  by  Playford's  tunes,*^  a  col- 
lection arranged  in  three  parts  but  with  the 
melody  in  the  soprano.     These  tunes  were  not 

*  The  full  title  of  Ravencroft's  Psalter  is  as  follows : 
"The  Whole  Booke  of  Psalmes  :  With  the  Hymns  Evangeli- 
cal and  spiritual.  Composed  into  4  parts  by  Sundry  Authors 
with  severall  Tunes  as  have  been  and  are  usually  sung  in 
England,  Scotland,  Wales,  Germany,  Italy,  France,  and  the 
Netherlands." 

5  The  first  edition  of  Playford's  Psalter  was  published 
in  1671  with  the  following  title :  "Psalms  and  Hymns  in 
solemn  musick  of  four  parts  on  the  Common  Tunes  to  the 
Psalms  in  Metre  :  used  in  Parish  Churches."  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  later  edition  in  three  parts  that  became  very  popular. 


CON  GREG  ATIOXAL  SINGING  69 

comparable  with  those  of  Ravenscroft,  being  of 
a  florid  and  ornate  character. 

As  to  conditions  in  the  early  days  of  this  ^n^ngin 
country,  church  music  suffered  no  improvement  -^"^^^ic*- 
when    Genevan    Psalmody,    together    with    the 
habit  of  "lining  out,"  was  transferred  to  ^ew 
England  by  the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans.     Five 
tunes,   among  them  Old  Hundred,  York,   and 
Windsor,  comprised  the  musical  stock  in  trade. 
The  diary  of  Judge  Samuel  Sewall,  who  was  jidS°^ 
for  twenty-four  years  a  precentor,  throws  inter-  sewau. 
esting  side-lights  on  early  ^ew  England  music. 
The  musical  sensibilities  of  the  singers  were  evi- 
dently not  of  a  highly  developed  nature,  and 
there  were  difficulties  regarding  the  pitch,  as  no 
tuning  forks  or  pitch-pipes  were  in  use  at  the 
time.    The  pious  and  God-fearing  Judge  chroni- 
cles as  follows : 

"1705,  sixth  day,  December  28th.  Mr.  Pem- 
berton  prays  excellently,  and  Mr.  Willard 
preaches  from  Ps.  66 :  20  very  excellently. 
Spoke  to  me  to  set  the  tune;  I  intended  Wind- 
sor and  fell  into  High  Dutch,  and  then,  essay- 
ing to  set  another  tune,  went  into  a  key  much 
too  high.  So  I  prayed  Mr.  White  to  set  it: 
which  he  did  well,  Litchfield  tune.  The  Lord 
humble  me  and  instruct  me,  that  I  should  be  the 
occasion  of  any  interruption  in  the  worship  of 
God." 

A  further  note  indicates  that  it  was  not  al- 
ways the  good  Judge  who  was  at  fault : 


70 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Early 

American 

tunes. 


William 
Billings. 


Fuguing 


"Lord's  Day,  February  23,  1718.  I  set  York 
tune,  and  the  congregation  went  out  into  St. 
David's  in  the  very  second  going  over.  They 
did  the  same  three  weeks  before.  This  is  the 
second  sign.  I  think  they  began  in  the  last  line 
of  the  first  going  over.  This  seems  to  me  an 
intimation  and  call  for  me  to  resign  the  pre- 
centor's place  to  a  better  voice." 

The  !N'ew  Englanders,  unlike  the  Virgin- 
ians, were  not  long  content  with  the  imported 
tunes,  and  with  true  Yankee  enterprise  and  in- 
genuity began  the  manufacture  of  their  own 
tunes.  Among  the  first  to  do  this  was  William 
Billings,  who  was  born  in  Boston  in  1746.  His 
trade  was  that  of  a  tanner,  but  his  passion  was 
music,  and  he  pursued  his  self-taught  way  with 
great  energy  and  enthusiasm.  By  this  time, 
through  the  influence  of  singing-schools,  choirs 
had  come  into  existence  and  four-part  singing 
was  a  possibility.  Hymns  were  gradually  com- 
ing into  use,  particularly  those  of  Dr.  Watts, 
and  a  style  of  hymn  music  known  as  the  ^'fugu- 
ing tune"  had  come  over  from  England.  In 
these  tunes,  instead  of  the  four  parts  singing  to- 
gether in  the  ordinary  way,  one  part  would  lead 
off  with  an  animated  phrase,  which  would  be 
imitated  in  one  or  more  of  the  remaining  parts, 
somewhat  after  the  style  of  a  fugue.  Billings 
waxes  enthusiastic  over  the  fuguing  tune  and 
thus  describes  it: 

"It  has  twenty  times  the  power  of  the  old 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  71 

slow  tunes,  each  part  straining  for  mastery  and 
victory,  the  audience  entertained  and  delighted, 
their  minds  surpassingly  agitated  and  ex- 
tremely fluctuated,  sometimes  declaring  for  one 
part,  sometimes  for  another.  Now  the  solemn 
bass  demands  their  attention,  next  the  manly 
tenor:  now  the  lofty  counter,  now  the  volatile 
treble.  Now  here,  now  there:  now  here  again, — 
O  ecstatic!    Rush  on,  you  sons  of  harmony!" 

Billings  was  an  uncouth  but  forceful  per-  isaim^books. 
sonality  and  neglected  his  tanning  trade  to  lead 
choirs,  with  a  voice  that  drowned  all  the  others, 
to  publish  psalm-books,  which  had  a  wide  sale, 
and  to  compose  music,  which  had  a  certain  crude 
worth.  He  succeeded  in  interesting  an  influ- 
ential backing  and  published  successively  "The 
New  England  Psalm  Singer  or  American  Chor- 
ister,'' 'The  Singing  Master's  Assistant,"  "Mu- 
sic in  Miniature,"  "The  Psalm-singer's  Amuse- 
ment," "The  Suffolk  Harmony,"  and  "The 
Continental  Harmony."  His  tunes  became 
very  popular  and  were  sung  around  the  camp- 
fires  of  the  Revolutionary  Army.  The  best 
known  among  them  was  a  tune  called  Chester^ 
and  it  was  frequently  played  by  the  fifers  in 
the  army. 

One  of  Billings'  contemporaries  and  rivals  Hordenand 
was  Oliver  Holden,  whose  tune  Coronation  to 
"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  Name"  has  quite 
outlived  any  effort  of  Billings'  and  which  is  to 


Coronation. 


72 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCB 


Psalm- 
singing  in 
New  York 
City. 


Music  at 

"Old 

Trinity." 


be  found  in  all  the  hymn-books  of  the  present 
generation. 

!N^ew  England  was  far  more  enterprising  in 
matters  musical  than  I^ew  York.  According 
to  one  authority  there  was  as  late  as  the  year 
1800  practically  no  Church  music  in  'New  York 
City  save  the  Genevan  Psalter  with  its  time- 
worn  tunes.  The  only  exception  was  in  Old 
Trinity  Church,  Broadway,  where  we  find  rec- 
ords of  hymn  and  anthem  singing  beginning 
with  1754.  Psalm  singing  was  also  deeply 
rooted  in  our  own  Church,  for  we  discover  that 
on  August  21,  1707,  an  order  was  made  by  the 
vestry  of  Trinity  parish  that  the  ^ew  Version 
of  metrical  psalms,  by  Tate  and  Brady,  shall  be 
introduced  ^^the  next  Sunday  come  seven-night, 
and  that  no  other  psalms  be  sung  in  ye  said 
church.''  This  would  imply  that  the  Old  Ver- 
sion of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  had  been  in  use 
and  perhaps  with  the  fine  tunes  in  Ravenscroft's 
collection  (1621).With  the  advent  of  Tate  and 
Brady  it  is  likely  that  Playford's  ''Whole  Book 
of  Psalms''  (1677)  was  drawn  upon  for  tunes, 
as  it  was  immensely  popular  in  England. 

Trinity  was  supplied  with  its  first  organ  in 
1741.  After  its  installation  and  following  the 
English  custom,  the  children  of  the  parish  char- 
ity school  were  called  upon  to  lead  the  singing. 
They  were  given  some  instruction  in  singing, 
were  taught  the  metrical  psalms  by  rote  and  a 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  73 

few  simple  anthems.  This  was  the  extent  of 
the  music  in  the  parish  until  the  arrival  of  Wil- 
liam Tuckey  from  England,  who  advertised  JS^ 
himself  as  "Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Prac- 
tise of  Vocal  Music,  late  Vicar  Choral  of  the 
Cathedral  Church  of  Bristol,  and  Clerk  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Mary  Port  in  said  city,  now  resi- 
dent in  'New  York."  He  was  an  indefatigable 
composer  and  set  about  publishing  all  sorts  of 
hymns,  anthems,  and  services  of  his  own  pro- 
duction. He  was  parish  clerk  at  Trinity  for  four 
years,  but  ceasing  to  give  satisfaction  he  was  dis- 
missed. However,  upon  the  inauguration  of  a 
new  organ  in  1762  his  services  were  secured  to 
organize  and  drill  a  mixed  chorus,  and  for  the 
first  time  a  Te  Deum  was  performed  in  this  performance 
country.  It  was  announced  in  the  following 
pompous  style  in  the  public  press: 

"To  all  lovers  of  Divine  Harmony.  Whereas 
it  is  the  custom  in  Protestant  congregations  in 
Europe  on  times  of  rejoicing,  as  well  on  An- 
nual as  particular  days  of  Thanksgiving,  to 
sing  the  Te  Deum,  therefore  by  particular  de- 
sire, a  subscription  is  opened,  for  the  encour- 
agement of  so  laudable  a  practice  in  this  city. 
■  Proposals  as  follows:  Every  lady,  gentleman, 
etc.,  to  subscribe  whatever  they  please,  for 
which  subscription  money  William  Tuckey  has 
obligated  himself  to  teach  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  persons,  to  perform  the  Te  Deum,  either 
with  or  without  an  organ,  or  other  instruments, 
and  that  it  shall  be  as  good  a  piece  of  music 


of  a 

Te  Deum. 


74 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Chanting  in 

Trinity 

parish. 


Kyam 
singing  in 
America. 


as  any  of  the  common  Te  Deums  sung  in  any 
Cathedral  in  England." 

Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury there  is  no  mention  of  chanting,  but  it 
seems  almost  incredible  with  the  constantly 
increasing  attention  paid  to  music  in  Trinity 
parish  that  chanting  was  not  attempted.  It 
came  eventually,  however,  for  in  1809  a  book 
entitled  "The  Churchman's  Choral  Companion 
to  his  Prayer  Book''  was  published  by  Trinity 
parish,  which  evidently  indicated  the  musical 
service  at  that  period.  The  editor  says  that 
"Chants  are  the  only  kind  of  music  which  is 
calculated  for  general  use  in  public  worship," 
and  he  further  remarks  that  "metre  singing,  by 
its  fluctuating  nature  and  restless  spirit  of 
novelty,  is  an  object  of  attention  to  the  young 
and  of  neglect  to  the  aged."  Despite  the  grad- 
ual introduction  of  anthems,  canticles,  and  ser- 
vices, the  hymn  singing  for  years  continued  to 
be  the  psalms  in  metre.  The  sectarian  churches, 
however,  and  particularly  the  Methodists,  were 
rapidly  abandoning  the  psalms  for  the  hymns 
of  Watts  and  the  two  Wesleys. 

It  is  well  within  the  last  century  that  the 
custom  of  singing  "spiritual  songs"  or  hymns 
has  grown  up  in  the  Church  of  England.  While 
the  Church  readily  took  up  the  Calvinistic  habit 
of  metrical  psalm-singing  it  was  slow  to  adopt 
the  hymn-singing  of  the  dissenters.     'No  hymn 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  75 

book  met  with  universal  favor  or  general  use 
until  the  appearance  of  "Hymns  Ancient  and 
Modern"  in  1861,  and  its  success  was  phenome- 
nal. As  to  this  country,  many  of  us  still  re- 
member the  metrical  psalms  which  were  bound 
up  with  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  in  the  days 
when  the  clergyman  would  exchange  his  sur- 
plice for  an  academic  gown  while  preaching  the 
sermon.  While  "Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern'' 
was  used  to  some  extent  it  was  not  until  18 Yl, 
when  our  own  official  hymnal  was  first  issued, 
that  psalm-singing  was  entirely  abandoned  and 
hymn-singing  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word  Episcopal 
became  general  among  us. 

II.       COJ^GREGATIONAL   SINGING. 


Hymnal. 


The   religious    and   musical   press    indulge  function 
periodically   in   heated    discussions    as   to   the  ?Je°church. 
proper  function  of  music  in  our  church  services 
and  the  relative  importance  of  the  rights  of 
choir  and  congregation  in  the  matter. 

Some  contend,  and  with  no  little  asperity, 
that  the  worship  of  Almighty  God  concerns  but 
the  priest  on  the  one  hand  and  the  people  on 
the  other;  that  the  choir  represents  the  people 
and  the  moment  anything  is  sung  in  which  the 
people  can  not  readily  and  easily  join,  the  choir 
usurps  the  rights  of  the  people  and  arrogates  to 
itself  privileges  which  it  has  no  authority  to 
exercise.     It   is   "praising  God   by   proxy,"    a 


76 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Music 
divided 
between 
priest,  choir, 
and  people. 


Silent 
worship. 


principle  which,  some  natures  seem  incapable  of 
comprehending.  These  outbreaks  are  without 
doubt  occasioned  by  those  churches  in  which  the 
music  of  the  choir  is  over-emphasized,  and 
where  the  congregation  is  deprived  of  its  proper 
share  in  the  musical  portions  of  the  service. 

This,  however,  is  a  short-sighted  view  of  the 
situation.  If  ancient  custom  and  the  authority  of 
the  primitive  Church  are  to  be  heeded,  the  service 
is  divided  between  three  participating  bodies, 
the  clergy,  the  clerks  or  choristers,  and  people. 
The  priest  is  to  say  or  sing  the  psalms  and  ver- 
sicles,  to  read  the  lessons,  and  to  join  with  the 
clerks  and  people  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  con- 
fession, the  psalms  and  the  Creed.  The  clerks 
are  to  join  with  the  people  in  the  responses,  the 
Kyries  and  the  Amens,  while  the  clerks  are  to 
sing  the  anthem,  for  the  rubric  says  "In  quires 
and  places  where  they  sing,  here  followeth  the 
anthem."  According  to  traditional  custom  the 
clerks  are  also  to  sing  the  Rve  anthems  in  the 
Communion  service:  the  Nicene  Creed,  the 
Sanctus,  the  Benedictus,  the  Agnus  Dei,  and 
the  Gloria  in  Excelsis. 

The  people  are  to  take  part  in  the  responses, 
psalms  and  hymns,  but  are  only  to  worship  nega- 
tively while  the  choir  sings  the  more  elaborate 
music  of  the  service. 

The  principle  of  silent  worship  is  obviously 
as  logical  as  the  principle  of  silent  prayer.    We 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  77 

can  praise  God  as  effectually  through  the  sing- 
ing of  the  choir  as  we  can  pray  to  Him  through 
the  voice  of  the  priest.  The  raison  d'etre  of  ^/Jo^?^ 
congregational  singing  is  the  opportunity  it  ff^ginl! 
gives  both  for  individual  and  collective  expres- 
sions of  worship  or  praise,  and  the  music  should 
never  be  of  a  nature  that  would  debar  anyone 
from  participation  on  account  of  its  difficulty. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  principle  of  honoring 
Almighty  God  by  dedicating  to  Him  and  His 
service  our  noblest  architecture,  our  most  beau- 
tiful sculpture  and  painting,  and  our  best  dic- 
tion applies  with  equal  force  to  our  music,  and 
the  special  work  of  the  choir  should  represent 
the  highest  expression  of  the  art  and  should 
be  rendered  in  a  manner  as  far  above  criticism 
as  circumstances  will  permit. 

The  services  of  the  Church  are  looked  upon  J'^J'^^^p 
by  many  people  as  offering  convenient  oppor-  personal 

.         /        1  .    .  r*     1     •  and  general. 

tunity  for  the  voicing  of  their  personal  prayers 
and  praises.  They  quite  overlook,  or  fail  to 
remember,  the  broader  aspect  of  the  case,  which 
is  that  these  services  are  also  an  act  of  worship 
on  the  part  of  the  Church  as  a  whole,  and 
contain  elements  of  far  greater  importance  and 
dignity  than  our  individual  needs  or  desires. 
Thus  while  the  Church  makes  every  provision 
for  personal  approach  to  and  communion 
with  the  Almighty  through  the  use  of  response 
and  psalm  and  hymn,  it  also  has  moments  when 


78 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Chanting 
of  the 
Psalter. 


Difficulty  of 
chanting. 


the  worshipper  must  forget  his  personal  equa- 
tion and  feel  himself  a  part  of  the  Church 
Universal.  Until  this  attitude  of  mind  is  at- 
tained one  can  never  appreciate  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  beauty,  the  force,  and  the  eminent 
fitness  of  our  liturgy  and  ritual,  and  the  evi- 
dent propriety  of  elaborate  and  artistic  music. 

While  the  choir,  then,  has  its  distinct  and 
appropriate  place  in  the  economy  of  our  public 
worship,  it  would  be  as  inexcusable  to  have  it 
usurp  the  functions  and  rights  of  the  congrega- 
tion as  to  have  the  congregation  with  its  lim- 
ited musical  and  artistic  capacity  attempt  to 
displace  the  choir  in  its  peculiar  province. 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  (for  it  must  be  remembered  that  hymn- 
singing  is  not  an  integral  part  of  our  services 
but  an  addition  thereto),  it  is  in  the  psalms  of 
David  that  the  people  find  their  chief  oppor- 
tunity of  joining  in  the  services  of  the  Church. 
But  most  imfortunately  the  inherent  difficulty  of 
chanting,  the  only  practicable  way  of  singing 
the  psalter,  is  so  great  that  it  debars  the  con- 
gregation from  active  participation.  This 
difficulty  in  setting  prose  to  music  was  prob- 
ably responsible  for  the  versification  of  the 
psalms,  which  adjusted  them  to  popular  choral 
expression.  We  have  already  observed  how  uni- 
versally these  metrical  versions  were  used  and 
how  they  gradually  became  replaced  by  religious 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  79 

poems,  commonly  called  hymns.  Among  the 
Scotch  Presbyterians  and  a  few  other  branches 
of  that  persuasion,  psalm-singing  still  obtains, 
but  among  Christians  at  large  hymn-singing  has 
all  but  universally  superseded  psalmody,  and 
has  become  the  one  great  musical  occupation  of 
our  modern  congregations.  Before  treating  this 
important  subject  at  length  we  will  consider 
briefly  the  other  portions  of  our  ritual  which 
present  opportunities  for  congregational  sing- 
ing. 

The  responses  in  the  choral  service  are  prop-  re^gp^onses. 
erly  the  people's  part,  and  the  musical  setting 
of  Thomas  Tallis,  written  over  300  years  ago, 
has  neither  been  improved  upon  nor  discarded,  Je^trng. 
although  occasional  sporadic  attempts  are  made 
to  do  both  the  one  and  the  other.  Tallis'  Re- 
sponses are  simplicity  and  dignity  itself  in  their 
original  form,  but  they  have  undergone  a  curi- 
ous perversion.  In  Tallis'  time  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  write  the  melody  in  the  tenor  part,  and 
the  alto  and  soprano  were  independent  parts 
added  above.  People  nowadays  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  melody  is  in  the  soprano  part, 
and  when  they  hear  Tallis'  Responses  they  join 
in  the  soprano  instead  of  the  tenor  part.  It 
would  be  far  better  if  choirs  would  adopt  the 
Ferial  or  daily  arrangement  of  the  responses, 
for  in  this  arrangement  the  original  plainsong 
melody  is  put  in  the  soprano  part,  or  better  yet 


80  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

to  have  the  plainsong  sung  in  unison  until  it 
is  thoroughly  acquired  by  the  congregation. 
When  the  custom  has  been  once  thoroughly  es- 
tablished it  would  have  a  fine  effect  on  festivals 
to  have  the  choir  sing  the  usual  Festal  arrange- 
ment while  the  people  sing  their  proper  part  in 
the  plainsong  melody. 
co'SSsSons  ^    reprehensible    habit    is    the    custom    of 

and  Creeds,  nsing  harmonized  Confessions  and  Creeds." 
These  parts,  together  with  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
should  be  so  simple  that  every  one  can  join  in, 
and  they  should  therefore  be  monotoned  or  sung 
to  a  single  tone.  The  organ  may  play  varied 
harmonies,  but  to  have  the  choir  sing  anything 
which  discourages  participation — and  in  the 
Confession  of  all  things — is  certainly  an  in- 
fringement on  the  rights  of  the  people  and 
should  not  be  tolerated.  The  so-called  ^'Ely 
Confession"  is  very  ^^nice"  from  a  musical  point 
of  view,  but  is  unquestionably  wrong  in  princi- 
ple. Furthermore,  the  habit  of  singing  the  re- 
sponses with  expression  and  with  exaggerated 
ritards  and  diminuendos  is  a  piece  of  sentimen- 
tality that  is  without  warrant.  It  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  a  congregation  can  indulge  in  the 
finer  nuances  of  artistic  interpretation  and  the 
worshippers  feel  instinctively  that  their  coop- 
eration is  out  of  place.     Those  who  do  join  in 

8  This  criticism  does  not  refer  to  anthem  settings  of  the 
Nicene  Creed  in  the  Communion  Service  which  are  not  in- 
tended for  the  people. 


OONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  81 

merely  mar  the  performance  of  the  choir.  In 
the  anthems  and  services  the  choir  has  ample 
opportunity  to  exhibit  its  finesse  as  well  as  its 
prowess,  and  it  can  well  afford  to  leave  to  the 
people  their  few  opportunities  of  congrega- 
tional singing. 

The  practical  difficulties  of  chanting  the  ^^^t^V^ 
psalter  have  been  alluded  to,  but  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible for  all  to  join  in  the  chanting  of  the  can- 
ticles, as  they  are  sung  so  frequently  that  the 
pointing  is  soon  fastened  in  the  memory.  The 
singing  of  the  Yenite  is  perhaps  as  generally 
joined  in  by  the  congregation  as  the  singing  of 
the  hymns.  Next  to  this  comes  the  Nunc  Di- 
mittis  in  point  of  familiarity,  and  then  the 
Benedictus.  The  Te  Deum,  the  Magnificat,  and 
Nunc  Dimittis  are  apt  to  be  sung  to  anthem  set- 
tings, where  they  have  choirs  of  ability,  and  sad 
to  say,  too  often  where  they  have  choirs  of  so 
little  ability  that  it  would  be  far  better  and 
more  edifying  to  use  simple  chants.  When  the 
canticles  are  chanted  the  choirmaster  should  see 
to  it  that  the  music  selected  is  of  a  simple  and 
straightforward  character  and  of  a  nature  to  in- 
vite cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  worshippers. 

There  are  simple  anthem  settings  of  the  can- 
ticles, particularly  of  the  Magnificat  and  Nunc 
Dimittis,  which  are  well  within  the  capacity  of 
the  congregation.  It  would  be  very  advanta- 
geous if  such  were  printed  on  card-board  slips 


82 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


The  Gloria 
in  Ezcelsis. 


Hymn 
singing 
essentially 
congrega- 
tional. 


and  distributed  among  the  pews.  It  would  be 
an  indication  that  all  were  expected  to  take  part 
in  the  performance  of  the  music,  and  the 
printed  notes  would  be  of  assistance  to  many. 

There  is  one  hymn  of  the  ancient  Church 
which  next  to  the  long  metre  doxology  is  more 
generally  kno^vn  than  any  one  musical  number 
in  our  whole  liturgy,  i.  e.,  the  Gloria  in  Ex- 
celsis  to  the  so-called  "Old  chant.''  It  is  a 
thousand  pities  that  the  music  is  of  such  an 
unsatisfactory  character.  Its  source  is  un- 
known, but  the  chant  itself  is  known  and  sung 
not  only  throughout  our  own  Communion  but 
among  the  various  Protestant  denominations 
also.  A  custom  so  widespread  and  long  estab- 
lished is  almost  impossible  to  supplant,  but 
it  is  most  devoutly  to  be  wished  that  some  day 
an  equally  simple  but  better  and  worthier  mu- 
sical setting  may  be  found  and  become  univer- 
sally current.^ 

We  will  now  return  to  the  important  sub- 
ject of  hymn-singing. 

Hymn  singing  is  essentially  and  fundamen- 
tally a  congregational  function.  It  is  equally 
deplorable  whether  this  function  be  largely 
taken  over  by  a  trained  choir,  or  whether 
through  general  apathy  and  indifference  it  de- 

^  May  that  day  also  include  a  correction  of  the  text  and 
avoid  the  redundant  appearance  of  the  phrase  "that  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  us,"  which 
doubtless  crept  in  through  the  typographical  error  of  a 
"printer's  doublet." 


CONGREGATIONAL   SINGING  83 

generates  into  a  lifeless  and  listless  practice. 
Nothing  is  more  inspiring  than  good,  hearty 
congregational  singing,  nothing  attracts  and 
holds  people  so  effectually,  and  nothing  creates 
in  so  large  a  measure  religious  zeal  and  fervor. 
The  hymn  singing  of  a  congregation  is  almost 
an  unfailing  barometer  of  its  spiritual  condi- 
tion. Good  hymn  singing  is  a  sure  indication 
of  a  mde  awake  and  energetic  parish,  one 
where  the  people  turn  out  and  join  sincerely  in 
the  service.  On  the  contrary,  poor  hymn  sing- 
ing is  an  index  of  spiritual  indifference  and 
stagnation.  With  such  a  powerful  agency  at 
hand  for  the  promotion  of  genuine  religious 
feeling  and  enthusiasm  it  is  singular  that  hymn 
singing  is  not  assiduously  and  systematically 
cultivated.  It  is  within  the  means  of  the  hum- 
blest parish,  for  it  is  not,  happily,  a  question  of 
expense,  but  of  well-directed  intelligence,  skill, 
and  devotion  to  the  cause. 

How  shall  we  secure  this  desirable  custom 
of  hearty  and  spontaneous  hymn  singing  ? 

It  is  a  difficult  question  to  answer,  for  con-  how  to 
ditions  vary  in  every  parish   and   suggestions  h5Tnn^^°° 
that  might  aid  in  one  case  might  prove  quite  ^      ^^' 
futile  in  another.     We  can  only  generalize  in 
the  hope  that  some  of  the  suggestions  offered 
may  be  found  of  practical  value,  or,  failing  in 
this,  that  such  an  awakening  of  interest  may  re- 


84  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

suit  that  better  methods  may  be  discovered  than 
any  hinted  at  in  this  lecture, 
^ng^generai.  ^^  the  average  congregation  we  have  a  mu- 
sically crude  but  not  altogether  incapable  mass 
of  people.  There  are  comparatively  few  who 
absolutely  cannot  "carry  a  tune"  as  the  phrase 
goes.  In  fact  they  are  in  about  the  same  pro- 
portion as  the  color-blind.  But  many  are  timid, 
others  indifferent,  and  the  usual  result  is  a 
faint-hearted  attempt  at  singing  by  perhaps  one- 
half  of  the  congregation.  Take  this  same  body 
of  people,  let  them  attend  some  public  gather- 
ing where  their  patriotic  feeling  is  thoroughly 
aroused  and  they  will  sing  America  in  a  man- 
ner that  will  leave  no  doubt  as  to  their  vocal 
possibilities. 

This  experiment  simply  establishes  the  fact 
that  the  ability  to  sing  is  there  provided  the  in- 
centive is  sufficiently  strong. 

The  maxim  "to  him  that  hath  shall  be 
given"  and  its  converse  are  most  aptly  proven 
by  congregational  singing.  A  stranger  enters  a 
large  church  where  everybody  sings,  and  sings 
heartily.  He  immediately  feels  encouraged  to 
join  in  and  adds  his  quota  to  the  inspiring  gen- 
eral effect.  Per  contra,  he  attends  a  small 
church  where  apathy  and  listlessness  prevail 
and  he  hesitates  to  open  his  mouth,  however 
much  he  may  wish  to  do  so. 

How  shall  we  improve  our  congregational 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  85 

singing;  how  get  those  who  sing  to  sing  better,  JSidSice^* 
and  how  encourage  to  sing  those  who  do  not  sing  °gggJgfL 
at  all?  There  is  only  one  way  and  that  is  by 
the  enthusiasm,  the  hearty  interest  and  the  ju- 
dicious guidance  of  the  clergy  in  cooperation 
with  the  choirmasters  and  organists.  How  often 
is  the  importance  of  singing  mentioned  in  our 
churches?  How  often  are  the  people  urged  to 
join  in  more  earnestly?  What  attempts  are 
made  to  give  the  people  a  little  instruction  or 
direction  in  their  singing? 

To  accomplish  anything  the  importance  of 
music  must  be  magnified,  interest  must  be 
aroused  and  a  desire  to  do  something  awakened. 
When  a  vested  choir  is  once  installed  all 
thought  of  congregational  singing  is  apt  to  be 
forgotten,  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  encourage 
or  increase  the  participation  of  the  people.     A 

1     .      .  ,  /.  .  /•    • ,  i    •  Choir  should 

choir  IS  not  periormmg  one  oi  its  most  impor-  encourage 
tant  duties  if  it  does  not  improve  the  hymn  Sonli"^* 
singing.     As  a  matter  of  fact  it  generally  does  ■*°«*°2' 
so,  but  this  result  is  accidental  rather  than  in- 
tentional. 

Sir  John  Stainer  brought  the  choir  of  St.   i^iner^n 
PauPs  Cathedral,  London,  from  a  state  of  in-  Jong?e*gr' 
difference  and  incapacity  to  one  of  the  highest  "iJ^g. 
beauty  and  efficiency.     He  was  equally  inter- 
ested in  the  people's  part  of  the  service  and  con- 
tended that  in  the  ideal  church  the  congregation 
should  form  a  vast  amateur  choir.     A  choir, 


86  MU8IC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

congrega-      amateur  or  otherwise,   necessarily  implies  re- 

tlonal  .  .        .  J  r 

rehearsals,  hearsing,  and  herein  lies  the  crux  of  the  whole 
situation.  If  our  Church  people  could  only  be 
sufficiently  interested  to  attend  an  occasional  re- 
hearsal, wonders  would  be  accomplished.  If 
they  could  be  induced  in  some  way  as  a  body  to 
give  a  few  minutes  to  instruction  and  rehearsal 
at  stated  intervals,  the  results  would  amply  re- 
pay any  effort  involved  in  drawing  them  to- 
gether. Why  could  not  a  Sunday  evening,  say 
once  a  month,  be  given  over  to  hymn  singing? 
A  shortened  form  of  Evening  Prayer  might 
open  the  service  and  the  remainder  of  the  hour 
be  devoted  to  informal  talks  on  the  history  of 
Church  music  and  the  rehearsing  of  congrega- 
tional music.  ^ 

The  talks  should  include  information  con- 
cerning both  hymnology  and  hymn  music,  for 
an  appreciation  of  the  literary  worth  of  hymns 
is  quite  as  essential  and  quite  as  interesting  as 
the  study  of  the  tunes.  If  widely  advertised 
such  a  service  would  tend  to  attract  non-church 
members  as  well  as  non-church  goers,  for  the 
love  of  hymn  singing  is  more  widespread  than 
the  love  of  church-going.  An  absolute  condition 
to  success  would  be  a  liberal  supply  of  hymnals 
with  the  music. 


®  Of  course  it  would  be  far  better  to  hold  these  pro- 
posed rehearsals  on  a  week  night,  and  in  some  gathering 
place  other  than  the  church  itself,  but  in  these  days  of 
endless  demands  upon  one's  time  the  Sunday  afternoon  or 
evening  would  probably  be  found  more  favorable. 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  87 

In  this  regard  we  may  well  learn  from  our  M^t^odigt 
Methodist  brethren.     A  new  official  Methodist  Hymnai. 
hymnal  was  put  forth  about  three  years  ago. 
It  has  better  music  type,   better  letter  press, 
better  paper,  better  printing  and  better  binding 
than  almost  any  of  our  hymnals,  and  an  edition 
with  music,  in  substantial  cloth  binding,  sells 
for  fifty  cents.    This  enables  the  average  church 
to  put  hymnals  with  music  in  every  pew,  and  the  Jf'ch^a^p^"^ 
far-sighted  policy  that  supplies  so  excellent  a  ^^JS^^^gij, 
book  at  such  a  minimum  of  cost  will  greatly  im- 
prove the  singing  in  the  Methodist  churches. 
Their  congregational  singing,  too,  stands  in  far 
less  need  of  improvement  than  ours.     Another 
point  worthy  of  imitation  is  that  the  Methodist 
Church  itself,  through  its  Book  Concern,  pub- 
lishes   the    hymnal,    and    consequently    profits 
largely  from  its  sales.     The  low  price  has  re- 
sulted in  an  enormous  demand  with  correspond- 
ing profits  to  the  Church  at  large.' 

The  advantage  of  a  liberal  supply  of  hym- 
nals containing  the  music  lies  in  the  fact  that 
now-a-days  so  many  people  have  some  knowl- 
edge of  musical  notation,  and  while  they  may 
not  be  ready  readers,  the  sight  of  the  music  is  a 
great  encouragement  and  assistance  in  the  learn- 


"  It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  tliis  new  Methodist  Hymnal 
appropriates  many  of  our  best  hymns  and  tunes.  It  marks 
a  great  advance  over  its  predecessor  in  both  literary  and 
musical  value. 


88  MU8W  IN  THE  CHURCH 

ing  of  new  tunes.     It  gives  confidence  to  the 
singer  as  well  as  a  feeling  of  responsibility. 

In  case  a  congregation  is  brought  to  the  point 
of  attending  rehearsals  it  would  be  an  interest- 
as  choraf*^°"  ing  experiment  to  treat  it  as  a  choral  society  and 
society.  ^^  divide  the  singers  into  the  four  parts:  so- 
prano, alto,  tenor,  and  bass.  In  any  consider- 
able body  of  people  there  is  sure  to  be  a  certain 
percentage  of  singers  who  have  had  experience 
in  part  singing,  and  a  still  larger  percentage 
who  could  carry  their  respective  parts  with  a 
little  practice.  These  two  elements  would  soon 
be  sufficiently  strong  to  carry  the  weaker  singers 
with  them  and  the  result  would  be  a  properly 
constituted  choral  body  prepared  to  sing  mod- 
ern hymns  as  they  should  be,  i.  e.,  in  harmony. 
Thus  instead  of  having  nine-tenths  of  the  peo- 
ple singing  the  melody — a  very  unbalanced 
and  unmusical  arrangement — the  hymns  would 
be  sung  with  properly  balanced  parts  instead  of 
a  few  singers  here  and  there  essaying  something 
besides  the  soprano  part.  Also  it  would  height- 
en the  pleasure  and  interest  of  the  singers  to 
sing  and  hear  sung  all  the  parts  of  the  harmony. 
The  scheme  may  be  considered  visionary,  but  it 
is  an  experiment  well  worth  trying  where  there 
is  a  good  sized  congregation.  If  the  hymn  prac- 
tice met  with  success,  chanting  might  be  at- 
tempted and  perhaps  simple  anthem  settings  to 
the  canticles. 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  89 

Another  plan  to  encourage  the  singing  of  devfces 
the  congregation  is  to  forego  the  usual  services  5^^^°™°*® 
of  the  choir  in  the  chancel  on  occasion  and  to  singing, 
distribute  the  choristers  throughout  the  church, 
so  that  by  their  singing  they  may  stimulate 
more  general  participation.     The  music  should 
of  course  be  of  a  strictly  congregational  charac- 
ter and  familiar  to  the  people.     Still  another 
plan  would  be  to  have  an  auxiliary  informal 
choir  sit  in  the  front  pews  or  some  section  of 
the  church  where  their  efforts  would  be  effective. 

If  none  of  these  suggestions  are  practicable 
naught  remains  but  exhortations  and  urgings 
on  the  part  of  the  priest  and  painstaking  care  on 
the  part  of  the  choir  and  organist  to  make  the 
hymn  singing  as  attractive  as  possible,  with  the 
hope  of  winning  hearty  response  from  the  pews. 

As  to  the  choice  of  tunes  there  is  but  one  ?fil*"r^ 

necessary. 

thing  to  do.  Use  the  very  best  tunes  avail- 
able and  ample  interest  will  be  returned 
upon  the  investment.  It  is  a  mistaken  notion 
that  good  tunes  are  more  difficult  to  learn  than 
poor  tunes;  that  the  congregation  will  enter 
more  heartily  and  readily  into  the  singing  of 
trashy  tunes  than  worthy  tunes.  With  the 
backing  of  a  choir  of  very  moderate  attain- 
ments it  is  only  a  question  of  slight  persistence 
to  establish  the  custom  of  singing  nothing  but 
thoroughly  good  tunes,  and  when  this  is  the  case 
no  one  will  care  for  anything  else.     We  have 


90  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

such  a  rich  treasury  of  tunes  both  ancient  and 
modern  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  excuse  for 
lowering  our  standards  or  pandering  to  ques- 
tionable tastes. 

Ss^°"*^  "^^  ^*^^*  ^^^^y  *^^  plainsong  tunes — those 

noble  melodies  which  have  stood  the  wear  and 
tear  of  ages — should  be  given  a  fair  trial.  They 
are  especially  suited  for  congregational  use  as 
they  should  invariably  be  sung  in  unison,  and 
they  are  the  only  tunes  which  are  quite  satisfac- 
tory without  accompaniment.  They  speak  to  us 
at  first  with  unfamiliar  phrases  and  we  are  dis- 
posed to  reject  them  because  they  are  not 
"pretty."  Prettiness  is  the  last  attribute  of  a 
good  hymn  tune.  We  may  have  "pretty'' 
waltzes,  serenades,  or  nocturnes,  but  not  pretty 
hymn  tunes.  A  hymn  tune  may  be  graceful, 
beautiful,  attractive,  and  ear-pleasing,  but  un- 
less it  has  a  certain  undertone  of  earnestness  and 
reverence  it  should  have  no  place  in  the  services 
of  the  Church.  We  can  in  our  tunes  run  the 
whole  gamut  of  religious  emotion  from  the 
depths  of  woe  to  the  most  joyous  exuberance  and 
still  maintain  a  certain  balance  of  dignity.  The 
plainsong  tunes  are  never  trivial  or  common- 
place but  are  strong  and  rugged  and  full  of  char- 
acter. Most  of  us  are  familiar  with  "O  Come, 
O  Come,  Emmanuel"  and  appreciate  its  uncom- 
promising straightforwardness.  There  are  six 
or  eight  more  plainsong  tunes  in  our  hymnals 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  91 

and  at  least  ^^O  Quanta  Qualia''  and  "Veni 
Creator  Spiritus^'  should  not  be  overlooked. 
Thej  do  not  follow  the  agreeable  curves  of  mod- 
ern melodies,  but  what  they  lack  in  grace  they 
more  than  atone  for  in  freedom  and  vigor.  If 
properly  sung  their  unconventionality  and  un- 
worldliness  will  finally  bring  conviction. 

Another  class  of  tunes  admirably  adapted  ^"^fg, 
for  congregational  singing  are  the  sturdy  and 
historic  tunes  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church. 
They,  too,  are  best  sung  in  unison  and  the  manly 
vigor  of  "ISTow  thank  we  all  our  God"  and  the 
deep  pathos  of  the  Passion  Chorale,  "0  sacred 
Head  surrounded,''  are  typical  and  well-known 
instances  of  sterling  worth. 

The  early  English  composers  have  also  given  ^^^^^ 
us  most  excellent  tunes  for  congregational  use, 
such  as  Dundee,  St.  Anne,  St.  Peter  and  Tallis' 
Evening  Hymn,  and  succeeding  composers  have 
added  to  the  list.  The  modern  tunes  of  Dykes 
and  Barnby,  while  more  graceful  in  outline  and 
more  gracious  to  the  ear,  are  not  so  well  adapted 
for  unison  singing,  as  the  melodies  lack  the 
strength  and  solidity  necessary  when  a  consider- 
able number  of  adult  male  voices  are  singing  the 
air.  It  is  not  contended  by  any  means  that  their 
use  should  be  discouraged  on  this  account,  but 
from  an  artistic  or  ideal  standpoint  they  are 
open  to  criticism  when  sung  in  unison.  They 
only  obtain  their  full  effect  when  sung  by  a  good 


92  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

choir  with  well-balanced  parts.  To  sensitive 
ears  such  tunes  as  Barnby's  Meerial  to  ^^Now 
the  day  is  over,"  or  his  setting  to  ^^O  paradise," 
or  Dykes'  "Lead,  kindly  light,"  have  a  very 
clumsy  and  ill-balanced  effect  when  sung  in 
unison,  and  this  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  musi- 
cianly  organists  sometimes  shrug  their  shoul- 
ders or  make  wry  faces  when  the  congregation 
is  singing, 
particfpation  ^^  cannot,  howevcr,  look  for  over-refine- 
flrstaim.  mcnt  in  congregational  singing.  The  primary 
question  is  not  one  of  artistic  effect  but  of  devo- 
tional uplift  through  hearty  co-operation  on  the 
part  of  the  worshippers.  If  this  is  attained  in 
any  considerable  degree  we  can  well  dispense 
with  ultra-esthetic  considerations,  although  our 
constant  aim  should  be  to  have  our  musical  ef- 
forts on  as  high  a  plane  as  possible.  It  would 
be  well  if  the  hymn-tune  composers  of  the  fu- 
ture paid  more  attention  to  unison  tunes  which 
leave  scope  for  varied  treatment  in  the  accom- 
paniment. 
in*hymn  The  possibilities  for  variety  in  hymn  sing- 

singing.  ^^^g  ^^.^  ^^^^  usually  Considered.  Aside  from  the 
combined  forces  of  choir  and  congregation  we 
have  the  following  factors: 

I.  The  choir  as  a  whole  in  harmony. 
II.  The  choir  as  a  whole  in  unison. 

III.  The  men  of  the  choir  in  unison. 

IV.  The  boys  of  the  choir  in  unison. 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING 


93 


St. 


V.  The  congregation  as  a  whole. 
VI.  The  men  of  the  congregation  alone. 
VII.  The    women    of    the    congregation 
alone. 

VIII.   Solo  voices  singing  or  in  combination. 

Take  for  example  the  Palm  Sunday  hymn,  Theoduiph. 
"All  glory,  laud,  and  honor,"  to  the  German 
tune  St.  Theodulph  by  Teschner,  which  is 
usually  sung  as  a  processional.  It  is  rather  tax- 
ing to  sing  through  consecutively  and  the  follow- 
ing suggestions  will  relieve  the  strain  and  make 
it  far  more  varied  and  effective: 

Verse  I.     "All   glory,    laud,    and    honor,' 
choir  and  congregation  in  harmony. 

Verse  II.  "Thou  art  the  King  of  Israel,' 
men  of  choir  and  congregation  in  unison. 

Verse     III.  "The    company    of     angels,' 
women  and  boys  in  unison. 

Verse  IV.  "The  people  of  the  Hebrews,' 
men  of  choir  and  congregation  in  unison. 

Verse  V.     "To  Thee  before  Thy  passion,' 
women  and  boys  in  unison. 

Verse  VI.  "Thou  didst  accept  their  praises,' 
all  voices  in  unison. 

The  refrain  "All  glory,  laud,  and  honor"  to 
be  sung  by  all  in  harmony  as  far  as  possible. 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  appropriateness  in  the  distribution 
of  the  verses  between  the  low  and  high  voices. 
Of  course  such  a  procedure  necessitates  either 


Sarum. 


94  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

printed  or  verbal  explanations  and  the  sympa- 
thetic co-operation  of  the  congregation,  but  the 
final  effect  is  worth  some  pains  to  secure. 

Barnbj's  fine  tune  Sarum  to  ^Tor  all  the 
saints"  can  be  made  very  attractive  by  distribut- 
ing the  verses  after  the  following  programme : 

Verse  I.  All  the  voices  in  harmony  as  far 
as  possible. 

Verse  II.  All  the  men's  voices  in  unison  in 
the  melody. 

Verse  III.   The  congregation  alone. 

Verse  IV.   Choir  alone  in  harmony. 

Verse  V.  All  men  in  unison. 

Verse  VI.   Choir  alone  in  harmony. 

Verse  VII.  Congregation  alone. 

Verse  VIII.  All  the  voices  in  unison  with 
free  accompaniment. 

To  have  the  congregation  sing  alone  is  by  no 
means  an  unheard  of  thing,  as  it  has  been  suc- 
cessfully accomplished  in  a  number  of  churches 
and  with  striking  effect. 

Several  of  Dykes'  picturesque  tunes  are  es- 
pecially adapted  for  choir  and  congregation  or 
solo  and  congregation,  such  as  "I  heard  the 
voice  of  Jesus  say/'  "Come  unto  Me  ye  weary," 
and  "Christian,  dost  thou  see  them."  "Art 
thou  weary"  is  also  well  suited  for  solo  and 
chorus, 
omnes.  I^  regard  to  the  rate  of  speed  in  hymn- 

singing  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  hard 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  95 

and  fast  rules.  The  size  of  the  building,  the 
number  of  singers,  the  nature  of  the  occasion, 
and  the  character  of  the  tune  must  all  be  con- 
sidered. Young  and  enthusiastic  choirmasters 
are  apt  to  force  the  speed  at  the  expense  of 
dignity,  but  too  quick  movement  is  no  greater 
fault  than  intolerable  dragging.'" 

This  intolerable  dragging  obtains  largely  in 
Germany  and  Holland,  where  it  becomes  fre- 
quently most  distressing.  The  one  virtue  is 
the  fact  that  no  one  attempts  to  sing  anything 
but  the  melody,  for  the  organist  is  apt  to  play 
very  elaborate  and  constantly  changing  har- 
monies. He  plays  the  melody  very  prominently 
and  religiously  keeps  one  note  ahead  of  the  con- 
gregation. The  people  sing  lustily,  however, 
even  if  they  frequently  consume  nearly  two  min- 
utes in  a  four  line  hymn.  To  judge  from  the 
original  notation  the  chorale  melodies  were  sung 
in  more  varied  rhythm  than  is  the  custom  now, 
and  some  writers  contend  that  they  were  taken 
with  much  more  life  and  freedom,  and  thus  ac- 
count for  their  enormous  popularity  in  Luther's 
time.     This  is  indeed  strange,  for  one  is  prone 

"  The  writer  once  heard  the  Litany  hymn,  Saviour,  When 
in  Dust  to  Thee,  sung  about  twice  too  fast.  It  was  done 
without  accompaniment  and  with  excellent  tone  quality. 
In  remonstrating  with  the  organist  after  the  service,  the 
latter  maintained  that  if  the  hymn  had  been  sung  more 
slowly  the  singers  would  lose  the  pitch.  Here  is  a  case  in 
point.  The  congregation  was  ignored  that  the  choir  might 
be  exploited  and  the  character  of  the  hymn  was  totally  de- 
stroyed in  order  that  the  choir  might  keep  up  to  the  pitch. 
In  both  instances  the  more  important  principle  was  sacri- 
ficed for  the  lesser. 


96  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

to   think   that   the   element   most   admired   in 
the   German  chorale   is  its   sustained   dignity, 
and  to  change  its  stately  and  even  flow  would 
be  to  destroy  its  most  eminent  characteristic. 
Bert  hymn  Taken  as  a  whole  England  probably  has  the 

England.  bcst  Congregational  singing  of  any  country,  as 
she  has  also  the  best  choirs  and  the  best  organs. 
In  no  country  is  the  love  and  practice  of  choral 
singing  so  universal  and  the  Church  reaps  the 
benefit  of  this  praiseworthy  habit.  English  tra- 
ditions, therefore,  should  not  be  treated  slight- 
ingly in  regard  to  the  speed  rate  of  hymn  tunes, 
and  a  noted  authority  gives  the  following  me- 
tronome marks  for  certain  familiar  tunes : 

(The   beat   of   a    metronome    is   gauged   so 
many  beats  to  the  minute.) 

St.  Anne 66 

Old  Hundred 80 

St.  George's,  Windsor 92 

Aurelia 96 

Eventide 100 

Ewing 100 

Ellers 104 

St.  Gertrude 104 

Some  of  these  marks  will  doubtless  be  con- 
sidered too  slow  by  the  impetuous  American, 
whose  restless  blood  clamors  for  excitement  even 
in  the  hallowed  precincts  of  the  House  of  God. 
But  those  who  appreciate  dignity  and  true  rev- 
erence will  find  them  not  far  astray. 

Certain  Church  musicians  of  the  more  con- 


CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  97 

servative  stripe  are  disposed  to  set  up  the  Ger-  uivewai 
man  chorale  as  the  one  type  and  standard  of  type  of  tune, 
hymn  tune.  They  overlook  the  fact  that  modern 
hymns  have  a  more  personal  and  introspective 
character  than  those  of  the  Lutheran  era  and 
that  they  require  a  corresponding  musical  inter- 
pretation. To  sing  the  typical  chorale  melody 
to  modern  religious  poetry  is  an  anachronism 
and  a  violation  of  good  taste.  The  early  hymns 
dealt  largely  with  objective  expressions  of 
praise,  of  faith,  or  of  penitence,  and  the  early 
tunes  were  of  such  interpretative  amplitude  as 
to  do  duty  for  a  considerable  variety  of  texts. 
There  were,  of  course,  instances  of  close  associa- 
tion of  words  and  music,  but  it  arose  more  from 
custom  than  any  inner  bond  of  connection. 

Nowadays  we  expect  a  tune  to  closely  fit  the  Tune  should 
sentiment  of  the  words,  to  enhance  their  mood 
and  reinforce  their  meaning.     When  a  tune  is 
found  that  thoroughly  accomplishes  this  object 
to  the  satisfaction  of  those  competent  to  judge, 
it  is  a  wise  policy  to  leave  it  undisturbed.    Both 
text  and  tune  gain  by  association  and  the  two 
form  a  homogeneous  whole  with  which  famil- 
iarity does  not  breed  contempt.     On  the  con-  Advantages 
trary,  they  become  more  and  more  beloved  with  traditional 
use.     Imagine    the   Christmas   season   without  *"°®^- 
^^Hark !  the  herald  angels  sing,""  and  "0  come, 

"The  well-known  tune  to  this  hymn  (originally  Hark! 
how  all  the  welkin  rings)  was  adapted  from  Mendelssohn's 
Festgesang  by  W.  H.  Cummings  in  1855.  According  to 
Mendelssohn's  own  opinion  the  tune  was  not  suitable  for 
sacred  words. 


98  MV8IC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

all  ye  faithful/'  or  Eastertide  without  "The 
strife  is  o'er"  and  "Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to- 
day/' sung  to  their  familiar  tunes,  associated  as 
they  are  with  our  earliest  years !  No  new  tunes, 
however  good  or  attractive,  could  awaken  the 
same  emotions  or  mean  so  much  to  us !  But  no 
rule  is  without  its  exception  and  it  does  rarely 
happen  that  a  new  tune  is  better  than  the  old 
and  worthy  to  displace  it.  But  we  must  be 
quite  sure  of  our  ground  and  not  be  carried 
away  by  passing  fancies.  For  example,  the 
hymn  "Jerusalem,  the  golden"  to  the  tune  Ewing 
— a  thoroughly  good  and  characteristic  setting. 
In  some  churches  this  fine  tune  has  been  dis- 
carded for  a  jingling  melody  which  begins  like 
"Yankee  Doodle"  and  ends  with  a  shriek  on  A- 
flat.  The  absurd  part  of  the  whole  matter  is 
that  Ewing  is  found  fault  with  for  its  extreme 
range  while  this  other  tune  goes  two  notes 
higher  V^ 


12  Dr.  Neale,  who  so  beautifully  translated  Jerusalem, 
the  Oolden  from  the  original  Rhythm  of  Bernard  of  Cluny, 
thus  writes :  "I  have  so  often  been  asked  to  what  tune 
the  words  of  Bernard  may  be  sung,  that  I  here  mention 
that  of  Mr.  Ewing,  the  earliest  written,  the  best  known, 
and  with  children  the  most  popular :  no  small  proof,  in  my 
estimation,  of  the  goodness  of  Church  music."  The  melody 
originally    appeared   in   triple    rhythm,   as    follows : 


tQ-^— H-^J^:^ 


5^3^33E3 


-z^ 


-2?- 


:tf8=: 


^: 


t=t 


CONGREGATIONAL  8INGING 


99 


Choice  of 
tunes  should 


The  use  and  choice  of  tunes  should  be  gov- 
erned by  deeper  principles  than  ephemeral 
pleasing  qualities.  Clap-trap  effects  and  cheap 
construction  are  as  objectionable  in  music  as  Jon^dered 
they  are  in  literature,  and  a  lack  of  knowledge 
or  taste  scarcely  justifies  their  exploitation.  If 
one  is  inexperienced  he  need  not  look  far  for 
expert  and  capable  opinion  either  among  men 
or  books.  While  liberal  allowance  must  be 
made  for  individual  opinion  and  taste  there  is 
nevertheless  a  fairly  well-defined  line  where 
good  music  ceases  and  poor  music  begins. 

Familiarity  with  a  good  tune  is  precisely 
analogous  to  familiarity  with  a  good  poem.  It 
is  a  valuable  addition  to  our  spiritual  stock-in- 
trade  and  something  to  be  appreciated  and 
treasured. 

There  is  a  strong  feeling  for  greater  unity  Hymns 
on  the  part  of  nearly  all  Christian  bodies,  and  a  Jf  u^ty. 
constantly  growing  bond  of  sympathy  is  the  use 
of  certain  hymns  and  tunes  which  have  become 


^c=q= 


^ 


J=q=J=p: 


3t=«t 


Si 


3=1: 


^^ 


■zy 


$ 


fe 


Jimt 


u 


^ 


-2?" 


H 


100  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

well-nigh  universal  throughout  the  Christian 
world.  Each  new  edition  of  the  sectarian 
hymnals  draws  more  and  more  from  the  best 
Anglican  sources.  The  German  chorales  are 
finding  their  way  into  the  better  English  and 
American  hymn-books  of  all  denominations. 
The  Roman  Catholics  do  not  hesitate  to  borrow 
from  us  and  from  Protestants  generally,  not 
even  drawing  the  line  at  that  war-cry  of  the 
Lutherans,  ''Ein  Feste  Burg  ist  Unser  Gott." 

Accounts  are  balanced  by  the  growing  inter- 
est in  plainsong  music,  which  had  its  develop- 
ment largely  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  This  in- 
terchange of  congregational  music  of  all  creeds 
cannot  but  soften  prejudice,  increase  sympathy, 
and  call  attention  to  much  that  is  common  to  all 
Christian  believers. 
Sirit*^*'  -^^  schools  of  hymn  music  have  their  place 

necessary.  ^-^^  their  peculiar  value,  and  it  behooves  us  of 
the  Anglican  Church  to  cultivate  an  eclectic 
spirit  that  our  congregational  music  may  be- 
come wide  in  scope  and  rich  in  quality. 


III. 

The  Organ. 

There  are  few  evidences  of  the  skill  and  in-  SS?SmJnt° 
genuity  of  man  that  can  compare  with  the 
church  or  concert  organ  as  it  stands  to-day. 
From  a  purely  mechanical  point  of  view  it  is  an 
extremely  complex  instrument,  its  construction 
calling  for  a  practical  knowledge  of  carpentry 
and  cabinet-making,  of  pneumatics  and  hy- 
draulics, of  electricity  and  acoustics,  as  well  as 
of  the  handling  of  metal  and  leather.  On  the 
artistic  side  it  requires  furthermore  a  keen  sense 
of  tone  color  and  a  feeling  for  proportion  and 
balance  in  the  distribution  of  the  various  quali- 
ties of  sound.  In  the  exposed  portions  of  the  in- 
strument it  touches  upon  the  arts  of  architecture 
and  mural  decoration.  ^Yithout  the  artistic 
sense  mechanical  resourcefulness  would  count 
but  little,  for  we  admire  an  organ  finally  for  its 
beauty  of  tone  and  its  majestic  volume  of  sound 
rather  than  for  the  cleverness  of  its  action,  the 
ease  of  manipulation,  or  the  attractiveness  of  its 
case. 


102  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

The  origin.  ^^  ^  person  interested  in  both  music  and 

mechanics  there  are  few  more  fascinating  pur- 
suits than  the  study  of  the  development  of  this 
king  of  instruments.  Tradition  has  it  that  the 
wind  blowing  through  a  broken  reed  gave  the 
first  suggestion  of  the  organ  pipe.  In  any  event, 
the  production  of  agreeable  tones  by  blowing 
across  the  edge  of  a  pipe  or  reed  was  probably 
known  in  Jubal's  time,  and  his  ^^organ''  may 
have  been  a  number  of  such  pipes  bound  to- 
gether, whose  graduated  lengths  gave  forth  the 
notes  of  the  scale.  An  instrument  of  this  sort 
was  known  among  many  ancient  peoples.  The 
Syrinx.  Greeks,  for  instance,  called  it  a  syrinx,  after  a 

?f  p\n.  lovely  water  maid  beloved  by  Pan.     This  in- 

strument w^as  in  common  use  and  contained 
from  three  to  nine  pipes,  the  usual  number  be- 
ing seven.  While  the  first  pipes  were  made  of 
reeds  they  were  later  made  of  horn,  ivory,  bone, 
wood,  or  metal.^ 

As  these  pipes  were  closed  at  the  lower  end 
they  give  the  first  example  of  the  so-called 
"stopped  pipes"  which  have  the  acoustical  pe- 
culiarity of  giving  a  tone  nearly  an  octave  lower 
than  the  same  length  of  pipe  would  produce  if 
left  open.     In  the  earliest  types  the  pipes  were 

1  According  to  the  legend  Syrinx  did  not  reciprocate  the 
love  of  Pan,  and  to  escape  his  importunities  she  fled,  and 
was  changed  by  her  sisters  into  a  reed.  However,  this  did 
not  lessen  Pan's  devotion,  for  he  cut  the  reed  and  divided 
it  into  seven  portions,  gradually  decreasing  in  size.  These 
he  bound  together  with  wax  and  formed  a  musical  instru- 
ment upon  which  he  continued  to  voice  his  passion. 


THE  ORGAN  103 

stopped  by  nature,  as  the  reeds  were  cut  off  just 
below  the  knot. 

The   Chinese    employed   twelve   or   sixteen  ?JJS5ian'''^ 
tubes  of  bamboo,  while  the  Peruvians  made  use  SpM.^^" 
of  both  cane-stalks  and  soapstone  in  their  instru- 
ments.    Later  this  "banded-together"  series  of 
tubes  became  known   as   Pandean  Pipes,   and 
they  are  still  to  be  found  in  remote  sections  of 
Europe  where  modern  civilization  has  not  yet 
penetrated.     These   pipes   of   Pan   were   quite 
popular  in  England  a  century  or  so  ago  with 
travelling  musicians,   and  they  are  still  occa- 
sionally  to   be   met   with    in    connection    with 
Punch  and  Judy  shows.    A  modern  Roumanian  Modern 
specimen  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum  in  specimen. 
London  contains  twenty-five  tubes  arranged  in 
a  curve. 

In  time  it  was  discovered  that  the  tone 
could  be  more  easily  produced  by  arranging  a 
mouthpiece  after  the  manner  of  a  penny 
whistle,  rather  than  by  the  original  method  of 
blowing  across  the  top  of  the  tube. 

The  Egyptians  seem  to  have  been  the  first  pi^^^^*° 
to  discover  this  principle  as  well  as  that  of  lat- 
eral holes  in  the  pipe  to  govern  the  length  of 
the  column  of  air,  thus  securing  a  series  of  tones 
from  one  pipe. 

As  the  deeper  toned  pipes  were  exhausting 
to  blow  by  the  mouth,  the  construction  of  a  reser- 
voir or  wind-chest   followed,   upon  which  the 


104 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Mechanical 
progress. 


Popular 
use. 


Hydraulic 
organs. 


pipes  were  placed,  tightly  fitting  into  holes 
made  to  receive  them.  Wind  was  supplied  by 
two  blowers  blowing  alternately  with  their 
mouths  through  flexible  tubes  into  a  wind-chest. 
At  first  all  the  pipes  sounded  at  once  unless 
silenced  by  the  hand  or  fingers.' 

The  next  advance  was  the  placing  of  slides 
underneath  each  pipe,  by  the  manipulation  of 
which  the  air  could  be  admitted  or  cut  off  at 
will,  and  the  wind  supply  was  greatly  improved 
by  replacing  the  human  mouth  with  a  smith's 
bellows.  Pipes  were  made  of  various  metals 
as  well  as  of  wood,  and  these  crude  instruments 
gradually  increased  in  size  and  power. 

By  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  or- 
gans of  this  type  were  in  common  use,  and  some 
of  them  were  fitted  out  with  very  clever  blowing 
devices,  the  so-called  ^^hydraulic  organ''  making 
use  of  the  weight  of  water  to  regulate  the  wind 
supply.  "Open"  pipes,  "stopped"  pipes,  and 
"reed"  pipes  were  in  use,  thus  giving  variety  of 
tone  quality,  and  most  of  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  modern  organ  construction  were  at 
least  suggested  in  these  rough  prototypes.  A 
quotation  from  the  poet  Claudian  about  400 
A.  D.  refers  to  the  hydraulic  system  of  blowing 
and  indicates  that  organs  were  large,  powerful, 

2The  use  of  skins  as  a  reservoir  for  wind,  after  the 
manner  of  a  bagpipe,  was  a  device  known  to  the  Greeks 
as  early  as  400  B.  C. 


TEE  ORGAN  105 

and  easy  of  manipulation  in  his  day.  He  speaks 
as  follows: 

"Let  there  be  also  one  who  by  his  light 
touch  forcing  out  deep  murmurs  and  managing 
the  unnumbered  tongues  of  the  field  of  brazen 
tubes,  can  with  nimble  finger  cause  a  mighty 
sound;  and  can  move  to  song  the  waters  stirred 
to  their  depths  by  the  massive  lever." 

Julian  the  Apostate  is  said  to  have  referred  ^entury^ 
to  an  organ  of  the  fourth  century  in  the  follow-  organ, 
ing  terms: 

"I  see  a  strange  sort  of  reeds;  they  must, 
methinks,  have  sprung  from  no  earthly,  but 
from  a  brazen  soil.  Wild  are  they,  nor  does 
the  breath  of  man  stir  them,  but  a  blast,  leap- 
ing forth  from  a  cavern  of  ox-hide,  passes 
within,  beneath  the  roots  of  the  polished  reeds; 
while  a  lordly  man,  the  fingers  of  whose  hands 
are  nimble,  stands  and  touches  here  and  there 
the  concordant  stops  of  pipes:  and  the  stops, 
as  they  lightly  rise  and  fall,  force  out  the 
melody." 

St.  Jerome  is  quoted  as  describing  an  organ  ^gjf*^ 
at  Jerusalem,  with  twelve  brazen  pipes,  two  ele-  °^^^^- 
phant  skins,  and  fifteen  smith's  bellows,  which 
could  be  heard  at  the  Mount  of  Olives,  a  dis- 
tance of  nearly  a  mile. 

The  value  of  the  organ  for  Church  purposes  ^o?sMp° 
was  soon  perceived,  especially  as  an  aid  to  the 
singing.     It   appears   that   Spain   in  the   fifth 
century  was  the  first  to  use  the  instrument  for 


106 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


A  Spanish 
organ. 


Venice, 
France, 
Germany, 
England. 


Eleventh 
century 
treatise 
on  organ 
building. 


this  purpose,  being  followed  by  Italy,  England, 
France,  and  Germany,  in  the  order  named. 

A  Spanish  organ  is  described  in  Hawkins' 
"History  of  Music''  as  being  two  feet  long,  six 
inches  broad,  and  furnished  with  fifteen  playing 
slides  and  thirty  pipes.  An  organ  of  such  di- 
mensions would  be  far  different  in  size  from  the 
one  mentioned  by  St.  Jerome  at  Jerusalem,  but 
it  was  probably  intended  for  choir  purposes 
only. 

Venice  was  noted  for  its  fine  organs  in  the 
ninth  century,  but  later  France  and  Germany 
were  said  to  produce  the  best  instruments. 
About  this  period  organs  with  pipes  of  brass  or 
copper  became  numerous  in  England.  An  old 
manuscript  Psalter  in  the  library  of  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  contains  an  interesting 
picture  of  a  tenth  century  organ.  Eleven  pipes 
varying  in  length  from  about  three  inches  to 
two  feet  are  mounted  upon  a  wind-chest,  and 
four  men  manipulating  as  many  levers  are  sup- 
plying the  wind.  Two  organists  are  evidently 
urging  the  blowers  to  greater  effort.  Two  per- 
formers for  eleven  pipes  seems  a  liberal  allow- 
ance when  we  consider  that  nowadays  one  or- 
ganist manages  several  thousand  pipes  unaided. 

A  treatise  on  organ  building  appears  as 
early  as  the  eleventh  century  and  it  describes 
very  fully  the  construction  of  instruments  at 
that  time.  This  treatise  informs  us  that  a  letter 


THE  ORGAN  107 

was  attached  to  the  tongue  of  each  slide  in  order 
to  indicate  the  pitch.  These  slides  fitted  into 
slits  like  the  lid  of  a  domino  box,  and  thej  ne- 
cessitated double  motions  as  the  opening  of  one 
slide  was  accompanied  by  the  simultaneous  clos- 
ing of  the  one  used  previously. 

The  following  account  of  an  organ  in  Win-  S^thed/af.' 
Chester  Cathedral  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
development  of  the  organ  in  England  in  the 
tenth  century.    It  is  by  a  monk  named  Wulstan, 
who  died  in  963: 

"Such  organs  as  you  have  built  are  seen 
nowhere  fabricated  on  a  double  ground.  Twice 
six  bellows  above  are  ranged  in  a  row,  and 
fourteen  lie  below.  These,  by  alternate  blasts, 
supply  an  immense  quantity  of  wind,  and  are 
worked  by  70  strong  men,  laboring  with  their 
arms,  covered  with  perspiration,  each  inciting  his 
companions  to  drive  the  wind  up  with  all  his 
strength  that  the  full-bosomed  box  may  speak 
with  its  four  hundred  pipes  which  the  hand  of 
the  organist  governs.  Some  when  closed  he 
opens,  others  when  open  he  closes,  as  the  indi- 
vidual nature  of  the  varied  sound  requires. 
Two  brethren  (religious)  of  concordant  spirit 
sit  at  the  instrument,  and  each  manages  his 
own  alphabet.  There  are  moreover,  hidden 
holes  in  the  forty  tongues,  and  each  has  ten 
pipes  in  their  due  order.  Some  are  conducted 
hither,  others  thither,  each  preserving  the 
proper  point  (or  situation)  of  its  own  note. 
They  strike  the  seven  differences  of  joyous 
sounds,  adding  the  music  of  the  lyric  semitone. 


108 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Great 
and  choir 
organs. 


Magdeburg 
Cathedral 
First 
key-board. 


Like  thunder  the  iron  tones  batter  the  ear,  so 
that  it  may  receive  no  sound  but  that  alone. 
To  such  an  amount  does  it  reverberate,  echoing 
in  every  direction,  that  every  one  stops  with 
his  hand  his  gaping  ears,  being  in  no  wise  able 
to  draw  near  and  bear  the  sound  which  so 
many  combinations  produce.  The  music  is 
heard  throughout  the  town,  and  the  flying  fame 
thereof  is  gone  out  over  the  whole  country." 

This  most  interesting  account  indicates  that 
two  organs,  corresponding  to  our  Great  and 
Choir  organs,  were  in  use,  that  to  increase  the 
volume  ten  pipes  were  in  operation  with  each 
slide,  and  that  each  player  "managed  his  own 
alphabet,"  or  in  other  words,  manipulated  the 
tongues  with  their  appropriate  letterings.^  The 
three  sets  of  playing  slides  doubtless  controlled 
different  degrees  of  force,  so  that  a  limited  de- 
gree of  variety  was  possible. 

In  the  eleventh  century  at  the  Cathedral  in 
Magdeburg  we  hear  for  the  first  time  of  an 
organ  with  a  key-board.  It  is  said  to  have  con- 
tained sixteen  notes,  but  the  keys  were  far  dif- 
ferent from  the  narrow  strips  of  ivory  of  to-day. 
These  first  efforts  consisted  of  a  key,  or  more 
properly  a  lever,  from  three  to  five  inches  in 
width,  and  the  action  was  so  stiff  that  it  required 
a  blow  from  the  fist  to  operate  it.  Hence, 
organists  were  first  called  "organ  beaters."   The 

8  The  "seven  differences  of  joyous  sounds"  refers  to  the 
seven  notes  of  our  C  major  scale,  the  "lyric  semitone"  being 
B  flat,  the  first  chromatic  note  to  be  introduced  into  the 
scale. 


THE  ORGAN  109 

addition  of  the  sharps  or  flats  was  a  process  of  J? gh*arp*8^°° 
slow  evolution.  The  "lyric  semitone''  B  flat  and  flats, 
was  added  about  the  tenth  century.  This  was 
followed  in  order  by  F  sharp,  E  flat  and  G 
sharp.  It  was  probably  the  fourteenth  century 
before  all  twelve  notes  of  the  chromatic  scale 
were  in  use.  At  first  these  additional  notes 
were  played  from  shorter  levers,  separated  from 
and  above  the  original  keys — almost  like 
another  key-board.  The  long  and  short  keys 
were  later  brought  close  together  and  reduced 
in  size  so  that  they  could  be  played  by  alternat- 
ing the  thumb  with  the  fingers.  This  process  of 
reduction  in  size  was  gradually  continued  until 
the  present  dimensions  were  reached. 

By  the  fourteenth  century  churches  were  poSative*^^ 
very  generally  supplied  with  organs  and  they  °'«*n^- 
were  of  two  sorts,  positive  or  stationary  organs, 
and  portative  or  movable  organs.     The  porta- 
tive, or  regal  organs,  as  they  were  also  called, 
were  so  small  that  they  could  readily  be  moved 
from  place  to  place  and  they  were  used  to  ac- 
company the  plainsong  of  the  choir.     The  pos-  Haiberstadt 
itive  orffan  of  Haiberstadt  Cathedral,  built  in  cathedral. 

wo/>-.   1       T^T-  1     1        -T-i  1  .  1  Nicholag 

1361  by  JNicnolas  ±aber,  a  priest,  was  the  most  Faber 
famous  instrument  of  its  day.  It  contained 
three  claviers  or  key-boards,  twenty-two  keys, 
fourteen  of  which  were  diatonic  and  eight  chro- 
matic, the  wind  being  supplied  by  twenty  bel- 
lows blown  by  ten  men.     Its  largest  pipe  was 


110  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

thirty-one  feet  in  length,  approximating  in  size 
those  of  the  great  instruments  of  to-day.  This 
organ  was  so  arranged  that  a  portion  of  the 
pipes  could  be  silenced  at  will,  thus  giving  re- 
lief to  the  constant  full  organ  effect  which  had 
obtained  previously, 
key-board.  The  introduction  of  pedals,  a  key-board  for 

the  feet,  occurred  in  the  fifteenth  century.  At 
first  they  consisted  of  one  octave  only,  without 
chromatics,  and  their  use  was  confined  to  long 
sustained  tones,  from  which  custom  the  present 
harmonic  device  of  an  organ  point  or  pedal 
point  was  derived.  About  this  time  the  four 
fundamental  qualities  of  organ  tone  were 
evolved,  the  ^^diapasons,"  the  "flutes,"  the 
"strings"  and  the  "reeds." 
STop^""®^*  The  greatest  advance,  and  the  one  which 
control.  opened  the  way  for  the  future  development  of 
the  organ,  was  the  device  whereby  any  set  of 
pipes  could  be  used  at  will.  In  the  earlier 
organs  increase  of  power  was  gained  by  adding 
more  pipes  to  each  key.  As  these  pipes  were  all 
served  by  one  pallet,  they  all  sounded  at  once 
when  the  pallet  was  opened  by  pressure  of  the 
key.  By  the  addition  of  other  key-boards  with 
a  different  selection  of  pipes  a  contrast  of  tone 
and  power  was  possible,  but  only  in  a  very  re- 
stricted way.  The  first  step  in  advance  was  a 
contrivance  by  which  certain  of  the  sets  of  pipes 
could  be  silenced  at  will.    This  was  followed  by 


THE  ORGAN  111 

the  introduction  of  a  long  transverse  slider 
which  brought  into  play  or  silenced  any  de- 
sired set  of  pipes.  The  fact  that  the  tone 
was  "stopped"  or  silenced  by  this  device  un- 
doubtedly gave  rise  to  the  term  "stop"  as  ap- 
plied to  the  handle  which  adjusted  the  slider, 
and  the  same  word  also  became  a  collective 
term  for  any  one  set  of  pipes.  For  instance,  of^top." 
"Flute  stop"  refers  properly  to  the  knob  or 
handle  which  brings  the  flute  pipes  into  action, 
and  it  also  applies  to  the  same  set  of  pipes  as 
a  whole. 

Although  the  device  of  "stopping"  pipes  orig-  gfXuced 
inated  in  Germany  it  was  soon  introduced  into  y^^giand 
England.     A  builder  by  the  name  of  Antony  Antony 
Dudyngton  erected  an  organ  in  the  church  of  ^lil^fj^^ 
All  Hallows,  Barking,  near  the  Tower  of  Lon-  AUHaUows, 
don  in  the  year  1519,  and  it  contained  three  London.' 
"stops."    It  was  described  as  a  "pair  of  organs" 
and  had  a  compass  of  four  octaves,  beginning 
with  the  note  two  octaves  below  middle  C.    The 
lowest  octave  was  a  so-called  "short  octave,"  the 
keys  from  C  to  E  flat  inclusive  being  wanting  at 
the  low^er  end.     To  offset  this,  the  lowest  key  E 
sounded  the  low  C,  the  F  sharp  key  sounded  D, 
and  the  G  sharp  key  sounded  the  low  E.     The 
remaining  keys  spoke  their  proper  tones.    There 
was   no   pedal  key-board,   as   pedals  were   not 
added  to  English  organs  until  some  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  later,  although  they  had  been  in 


112 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Tork 

Minster 
organ. 


Disorders 
of  the 
Common- 
wealth. 


use  on  German  organs  considerably  prior  to  this 
period. 

In  1634  York  Minster  was  supplied  with  a 
two-manual,  or  two  key-board  organ,  the  Great 
organ  containing  nine  stops  and  the  Choir  organ 
five.  The  stops  were  diapasons,  principals,  and 
flutes. 

At  this  period  the  progress  of  organ  building 
in  England,  together  with  that  of  music  and  the 
arts  in  general,  received  a  severe  blow  due  to  the 
religious  and  political  upheavals  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. In  1643  it  was  ordained  by  Parlia- 
ment ^^that  all  organs  and  the  frames  and  cases 
wherein  they  stand  in  all  churches  and  chapels 
aforesaid  shall  be  taken  away  and  utterly  de- 
faced, and  none  other  hereafter  set  up  in  their 
places.''  In  the  following  year  a  second  ordi- 
nance "for  the  further  demolishing  of  monu- 
ments of  Idolatry  and  Superstition"  was  en- 
acted. In  pursuance  of  these  orders  many 
organs  were  completely  destroyed.  At  West- 
minster Abbey  we  are  told  the  "soldiers  brake 
down  the  organs  and  pawned  the  pipes  at  sev- 
eral ale  houses  for  pots  of  ale."  Luckily  a 
number  of  the  prominent  Cathedral  organs  es- 
caped as  well  as  certain  in  the  principal  colleges 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 

The  puritanical  prejudice  against  musical 
instruments  compelled  organ  builders  to  turn 
to  other  trades.    By  the  time  of  the  Kestoration 


TEE  ORGAN  113 

there  were  few  who  had  retained  their  cunning. 
Bernard  Schmidt,  a  noted  organ  maker,  was  in-  fcJSdt 
duced  to  come  to  England  from  Germany.  He  [jH^I' 
soon  attained  to  such  fame  and  popularity  that 
he  was  known  far  and  wide  as  ^'Father  Smith." 
He  and  his  rival,  Eenatus  Harris,  were  the  first  HarSs.^ 
great  organ  builders  of  England.  Eemnants  of 
their  skilled  workmanship  in  the  way  of  pipes 
and  organ  cases  may  be  found  to-day  in  some  of 
the  most  noted  English  organs.  In  Father 
Smith's  first  organ,  built  in  1660  in  the  Ban- 
queting Room,  Whitehall,  London,  he  intro- 
duced the  first  "reed"  stops  in  the  country,  in- 
cluding two  Trumpets  and  a  Vox  Humana.  The 
Tremolo,  or  "shaking  stop"  as  it  was  first  called, 
had  already  been  in  use  for  some  fifty  years. 
Another  novelty  for  which  Father  Smith  was 
responsible  was  the  first  "Echo"  organ,  which 
contained  four  stops.* 

In  May,  1664,  both  Father  Smith  and  Een- 
atus Harris  placed  organs  on  trial  in  the  famous 
Temple  Church,  London.    After  a  thorough  test  chuSh, 
of  nearly  two   years'    duration   Father    Smith  ^o"^°"- 
triumphed,  but  not  to  the  detriment  of  Harris' 
reputation. 

In  1710  Eenatus  Harris  built  in  Salisbury  IfSedZ. 

*  The  stops  in  the  Echo  organ  were  duplications  of  cer- 
tain stops  in  the  Great  organ,  but  they  were  enclosed  in  a 
separate  box  which  muflfled  the  sound  and  gave  the  eflfect 
of  an  echo.  This  was  the  precursor  of  the  swell  organ, 
which  later  had  the  box  supplied  with  movable  shutters, 
making  it  possible  to  "swell"  or  increase  the  tone. 


114 


MUSIC  IX  THE  CHURCH 


First  Swell 
organ. 


John 
Snetzler 
(1710- 
1800?). 


Pedal 

key-board 

and 

combination 

pedals. 

Organs  not 
yet  fully 
developed. 


Cathedral  the  first  four-manual  organ  in  Eng- 
land. The  usual  Great,  Choir,  and  Echo  organs 
were  supplemented  by  a  second  Great  organ  the 
pipes  of  which  were  borrowed  from  the  first 
Great  organ.  The  first  "Swell"  organ  appeared 
six  years  later,  the  pipes  of  which  were  enclosed 
in  a  large  box.  By  means  of  overlapping  shutters 
controlled  by  a  movement  of  the  foot  the  tone 
could  be  varied  in  volume  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent. The  first  "Dulciana"  or  string-tone  stop 
was  brought  into  England  in  1754  by  a  German 
named  Snetzler.  In  1790  the  pedal  key-board 
was  introduced  into  England  after  having  been 
in  use  in  Germany  for  upwards  of  four  hundred 
years.  In  1809  combination  pedals  (iron  levers, 
operated  by  the  foot  and  controlling  certain 
groups  of  stops)  were  first  applied. 

Organs  at  this  period  had  no  definite  range. 
Some  had  G  as  the  lowest  note,  some  F,  and 
some  C.  The  pedal-board  extended  two  octaves 
but  was  not  continuous.  The  upper  octave  re- 
peated the  notes  of  the  lower  octave.  Many  of 
the  stops  were  incomplete,  not  extending  the 
whole  length  of  the  key-board.  The  action  in 
the  larger  organs  was  very  stiff  and  precluded 
any  rapid  passage  work.  The  organist  of  the 
celebrated  organ  at  Haarlem,  in  Holland,  was 
in  the  habit  of  stripping  like  a  blacksmith  for 
his  arduous  hour's  work  when  giving  a  perform- 


THE  ORGAN 


115 


anc€.  The  necessity  for  lightening  the  touch  re- 
sulted in  the  pneumatic  lever,  an  invention 
whereby  the  finger  was  relieved  from  making 
direct  connection  between  key  and  pipe.  In 
the  pneumatic  action  the  depression  of  the  key 
admitted  wind  into  a  little  bellows  the  inflation 
of  which  was  utilized  as  the  motive  power. 
This  mechanical  device  was  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance in  the  evolution  of  organ  building,  as  it 
was  now  possible  to  increase  their  size  and  scope 
to  any  desired  extent.  The  device  was  invented 
in  1832  by  an  Englishman  named  Barker,  but  it 
was  first  applied  practically  by  the  great  French 
organ  builder,  Cavaille-Col,  in  an  instrument 
erected  by  him  in  1841  in  the  Abbey  Church  of 
Saint  Denis,  near  Paris. 

In  the  development  of  new  tone  qualities  and 
also  in  mechanical  improvements,  the  continen- 
tal builders  were  considerably  in  advance  of  the 
English. 

At  the  great  Industrial  Exhibition  of  1851 
in  Hyde  Park,  London,  a  French  organ  by  Du- 
croquet  of  twenty  stops,  and  a  German  organ 
by  Schultze  &  Sons  of  fifteen  stops,  were  in- 
stalled. They  both  had  two  manuals  and  pedal, 
the  French  organ  having  a  manual  compass  of 
five  octaves,  the  German  of  four  and  a  half. 
Pedals  and  manuals  began  with  C  on  both  or- 
gans. These  organs  attracted  much  attention 
owing  to  the  superiority  of  their  tone  quality 


Pneumatic 
action. 


Charles  S. 

Barker 

(1806-?). 


Influence  of 
continental 
builders. 


Ducroquet. 
Schultze 

& 


116 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Superiority 
of  French 
reeds  and 
German 
strings. 


The  great 

English 

organs. 


and  their  general  effectiveness,  quite  eclipsing 
the  native  organs  of  the  same  or  even  larger 
size.  Up  to  this  period  the  tonal  appointment 
of  English  organs  consisted  of  diapasons  of  vari- 
ous pitch  and  force,  and  reeds  not  conspicuous 
for  their  beauty  or  smoothness.  The  French 
organ  was  noticeable  for  its  fine  reeds  (which 
were  mounted  on  a  separate  sound-board  and 
supplied  with  extra  wind-pressure),  and  its 
flutes.  The  Oboe,  Cor  Anglais,  and  Flute  were 
all  excellent  imitations  of  these  respective  or- 
chestral instruments.  The  German  organ  at- 
tracted attention  more  particularly  to  its  string- 
tones  stops,  having  a  Gamba  and  two  Geigen 
Principals  or  Violin  Diapasons.  The  soft- 
toned  Dulciana  up  to  this  time  had  been  the 
only  string-toned  stop  known  in  England,  and 
that,  too,  was  an  importation  from  Germany,  as 
has  already  been  mentioned.  These  two  organs 
did  much  to  broaden  the  horizon  of  English 
builders  and  a  consistent  and  constant  improve- 
ment in  their  output  has  followed,  placing  them, 
in  some  respects  at  least,  as  the  leading  expo- 
nents of  organ  building  in  the  world  to-day. 

To  have  heard  the  great  Willis  organ  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  the  magnificent  instrument 
by  Hill  &  Son  in  Westminster  Abbey,  the  fa- 
mous product  of  Norman  &  Beard  in  Norwich 
Cathedral,  the  beautiful  instruments  by  T.  C. 
Walker  &   Co.   in   Southwark   Cathedral,   and 


THE  ORGAN  117 

Walker  &  Sons  in  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster 
(the  latter  built  to  specifications  by  E.  H.  Le- 
mare,  the  noted  virtuoso),  or  the  much-talked-of 
organ  by  that  modern  genius,  Hope-Jones,  in 
Worcester  Cathedral,  is  to  admit  that  no  other 
country  could  possibly  duplicate  so  many  mas- 
terpieces of  organ  construction  by  so  many 
different  builders.  In  France  the  great  house  The  great 
of  Cavaille-Col  has  erected  instruments  of  the  organs, 
first  rank  in  the  Cathedral  of  [N'otre  Dame,  in 
St.  Sulpice  and  the  Madeleine  in  Paris,  and  in 
the  Town  Halls  of  Manchester  and  Sheffield  in 
England,  while  the  house  of  Merklin  has  con- 
structed excellent  organs.  Germany  has  lost 
rank  somewhat  in  recent  years  and  at  present 
has  no  organ  builders  of  international  reputa- 
tion. Some  of  its  most  famous  cathedrals  have 
but  inferior  instruments,  and  its  reputation  for 
fine  organs  still  rests  upon  the  products  of  a  cen- 
tury or  so  ago.  Among  these  are  the  noted  or- 
gan built  for  the  monks  at  Weingarten  by 
Gabler  in  1750,  the  fine  Silbermann  organ  in 
the  Strasburg  Cathedral,  the  Walcker  organ 
in  Ulm  Cathedral  built  in  1853,  and  the  Mooser 
organ  in  Freiburg,  Switzerland,  built  in  1834. 
The  most  famous  continental  organ  is  doubtless  The 
that  at  Haarlem,  Holland.  This  renowned  in-  organ, 
strument  by  Christian  Miiller,  was  begun  in 
1735  and  was  more  than  three  years  in  build- 
ing.   It  contains  sixty  stops  and  is  more  notable 


The  great 

German 

organs. 


118 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Canada: 

Casavant 

Bros. 


First  organ 
in  America. 


for  its  volume  and  power  than  for  the  beauty 
of  its  solo  stops.  It  is  practically  in  its  original 
condition  to-day  as  no  attempt  has  been  made 
to  modernize  it,  but  it  still  excites  the  wonder 
and  admiration  of  tourists. 

To  turn  to  America,  Canada  has  produced  a 
firm  of  organ  builders,  Casavant  Bros,  of  St. 
Hyacinthe,  Quebec,  who  are  placed  in  the  front 
rank  by  the  most  eminent  organists  such  as 
Frederick  Archer,  Clarence  Eddy,  and  E.  H. 
Lemare.  In  Montreal,  Toronto,  and  other  Ca- 
nadian cities  they  have  magnificent  instruments 
equipped  with  the  most  approved  modern  ap- 
pliances. 

The  first  pipe  organ  in  America  was  im- 
ported from  England  and  was  the  property  of 
Thomas  Brattle,  treasurer  of  Harvard  College. 
On  his  death  in  1713  he  left  it  to  the  Brattle 
Square  Church.  This  was  in  the  Puritan  days 
when  the  music  consisted  of  psalm-singing,  and 
instruments  were  considered  too  profane  to  be 
used  in  church.  The  gift  was  not  accepted,  as 
they  "did  not  think  it  proper  to  use  said  organ 
in  the  public  worship  of  God.''  In  accordance 
with  the  will  it  was  transferred  to  King's 
Chapel,  Boston,  the  Episcopalians  having  no 
scruples  about  accepting  it.  The  organ  was  a 
small  affair  of  six  stops  and  it  is  still  in  exis- 
tence. Several  other  organs  were  brought  over 
from  England  from  time  to  time,  the  largest 


THE  ORGAN  119 

being  a  thirteen-stop  instrument  intended  as  a 
gift  by  Bishop  Berkeley  for  the  town  named 
after  him.  As  the  gift  was  refused  it  went  to 
Trinity  Church,  ISTewport,  R.  I. 

Probably  the  first  organ  builder  in  America  Jj^Jj^^.^ 
was  John  Clemm  of  Philadelphia,  who  came  to  jrgg^ 
this  country  in  1736.     He  was  born  in  Dresden  Johnciemm 

^  .  .  (1690-7). 

in  1690  and  learned  his  art  with  the  famous 
Andreas  Silbermann,  the  greatest  of  Ger- 
many's organ  builders.  Clemm  was  evidently 
a  capable  workman,  for  he  was  engaged  by  the 
vestry  of  Trinity  parish,  'New  York,  to  build  a 
three-manual  organ  for  their  use  in  1739.  The 
organ  was  set  up  in  1741  and  contained  ten 
stops  on  the  Great,  ten  on  the  Choir,  and  six  on 
the  Swell,  a  large  instrument  for  those  days. 
We  read  that  it  had  a  "frontispiece  of  gilt  pipes, 
and  was  otherwise  neatly  adorned.''  It  is  prob- 
able that  many  of  the  stops  did  not  run  through 
and  that  the  Swell  manual  was  of  short  compass. 

A  few  years  later  Edward  Bromfield  built  IS^id. 
an  organ  for  a  Boston  church  which  is  said  to 
have  been  superior  in  construction  to  the  im- 
ported specimens. 

As  old  Trinity,  Xew  York,  has  always  been   %T^*'' 
in  the  lead  in  Church  music,  the  successive  or-  N?w^York. 
gans-  in  that  historic  church  give  us  a  general 
idea  of  the  progress  of  organ  building  in  this 
country.     Clemm's  organ  was  evidently  not  an 
unqualified  success,  for  after  twenty  years'  use 


120  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

snetzier.  ^^  ^'^^  Condemned.  In  1764  an  organ  by  Snetz- 
ler,  a  German  builder,  who  introduced  the  Dul- 
ciana  stop  into  England,  and  who  built  several 
fine  instruments  for  that  country,  was  imported. 
This  organ  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1776  and 
no  description  of  it  remains.  In  1791,  after 
the  rebuilding  of  the  church,  an  organ  described 
by  the  rector  as  "of  no  great  power,  but  sweet- 
toned  and  well  adapted  for  the  size  of  the  build- 
ing," was  brought  from  England,  built  by  Hol- 
land. It  had  seven  stops  on  the  Great,  six  on  the 
Choir,  and  six  on  the  Swell,  the  latter  being  short 
one  octave  at  the  bass  end.  It  was  a  "G"  organ 
(having  GG  as  the  lowest  note),  and  no  pedals. 
Dr.  Edward  Hodges,  the  celebrated  English  or- 
ganist, who  did  so  much  to  make  the  music  of 
Trinity  famous,  evidently  did  not  agree  with 
the  rector's  estimate  and  spoke  of  it  as  "an  ex- 
ceeding poor  affair."     But  such  as  it  was  it  did 

Henry  duty    for    forty-five    years.     In    1846    a    new 

organ,  after  specifications  by  Dr.  Hodges, 
was  installed  by  Henry  Erben,  of  New  York 
City,  the  leading  builder  of  his  day,  and 
the  instrument  still  stands  as  a  fine  speci- 
men of  the  art  of  organ-building.  It  had  sev- 
eral curious  features,  for  it  was  planned  before 
there  was  any  general  consensus  of  opinion  re- 
garding the  compass  of  key-boards  and  pedals. 
The  Great  organ  contained  twelve  stops  and  ex- 
tended five  and  one-half  octaves,  beginning  an 


THE  ORGAN  121 

octave  lower  than  is  the  custom  now.  The  Choir 
organ  had  sixteen  stops  and  the  same  compass 
as  the  Great,  but  the  lowest  octave  did  not 
speak.  The  Swell  organ  of  nine  stops  had  six 
and  one-half  octaves,  but  the  lower  two  octaves 
were  silent  except  with  two  stops  designed  to 
furnish  a  deep  bass.  The  organ  was  supplied 
with  a  pedal  key-board  of  two  octaves  but  only 
one  stop,  and  that  of  the  unusual  32-foot  pitch. 
The  lowest  pipe  is  large  enough  to  hold  twenty 
men  and  fourteen  boys.  This  largeness  of  scale 
holds  good  throughout  the  organ  and  gives  to  it 
a  nobility  and  amplitude  of  tone  which  is  lack- 
ing in  many  modern  organs  even  of  much  larger 
stop  capacity.  The  roominess  of  its  location 
and  the  fine  acoustics  of  the  building  are  also 
important  factors  in  the  satisfying  general  re- 
sult. 

Jardine  &  Son  of  :N'ew  York  City  made  J*|JJJ® 
excellent  instruments  at  this  period,  not  only  in 
this  country  but  also  in  England.  The  next  firm 
of  note  was  Hook  &  Hastings,  who  for  many  Hasungs 
years  held  the  lead.  In  1853  they  erected  the 
first  large  concert  organ  in  Tremont  Temple, 
Boston,  which  was  equipped  with  four  manuals 
and  pedal,  seventy  stops  and  nearly  4,000  pipes. 
Some  twenty-five  years  later  they  installed  a 
fine  instrument  in  the  Cincinnati  Music  Hall. 
Their  church  organs  are  also  famous  and  are  to 


122 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Boston 
Music  Hall 
organ. 


Bapid 
Progress. 


Johnson 
and  Son. 


Hilborne  L. 
Boosevelt. 


be  found  in  many  of  the  principal  cities  of  the 
country. 

The  art  of  organ  building  in  this  coun- 
try received  a  great  impetus  upon  the  erec- 
tion of  the  great  organ  in  Boston  Music  Hall  in 
1863  by  Walcker  of  Ludwigsburg,  Germany. 
It  cost  $70,000  and  was  opened  with  much 
pomp  and  ceremony  and  it  became  the  mecca  of 
all  lovers  of  organ  music  in  America.  When 
the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra  was  founded  it 
was  discovered  that  the  famous  organ  interfered 
with  the  acoustics  of  the  hall.  The  decision  to 
remove  it  in  1884  was  received  with  bitter  op- 
position. The  instrument  was  stored  away  and 
finally  sold  for  $1,500. 

The  development  of  organ  building  in  re- 
cent years  in  the  United  States  has  proceeded  at 
such  a  rapid  rate  that  it  is  impossible  to  more 
than  hint  at  its  progress  and  expansion.  Hook 
&  Hastings  had  a  formidable  rival  in  Johnson 
of  Westfield,  Mass.,  who  built  many  fine  church 
organs,  Chicago  claiming  some  forty  of  them. 

Hilborne  L.  Boosevelt  of  'New  York  City,  a 
man  of  ample  means  and  with  a  passion  for  or- 
gan building,  came  next  to  the  fore.  About 
thirty-five  years  ago  he  entered  into  the  business 
of  organ  building  with  the  laudable  intention 
of  turning  out  nothing  but  the  highest  class  of 
work  regardless  of  expense.  He  declined  to 
enter   into   competition   with   other   firms    and 


TEE  ORGAN  123 

asked  at  least  fifty  per  cent  more  for  his  organs 
than  other  builders.     He  perfected  a  new  wind- 
chest  as  well  as  a  tubular  pneumatic  system,  and 
at  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia  in 
1876,  he  exhibited  the  first  organ  with  electric  ^t?  °'^*'' 
action.    His  independence,  inventive  ingenuity,  J}Jion.° 
and  artistic  skill  (for  the  voicing  of  his  pipes 
received  as  great  attention  as  the  construction 
of  the  mechanical  parts)  set  new  standards  and 
had  a  most  stimulating  effect  upon  the  trade  at 
large.     Tor  a  number  of  years  he  secured  the 
most  important  contracts  and  was  an  acknowl- 
edged leader.     Pie  died  in  the  midst  of  his  am- 
bitions and  labors  and  the  business  was  taken  j.ya^jj 
over  for  a  time  by  his  brother  Frank.     Later  it  Roosevelt, 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Votey  Co.  of  De-  voteyco. 
troit,  who  built  the  great  organ  at  the  World's 
Fair,  Chicago,  in  1893. "^     Roosevelt's  principal 
rival  was  the  Hutchings  Co.  of  Boston,  a  firm  co. 
noted  for  their  beautiful  and  refined  organs. 
The  Votey  Co.  and  the  Hutchings  Co.  joined  Hutcungs- 
hands  about  1901  and  at  once  assumed  a  pre-     °  ®^ 
eminent  position  in  the  organ-building  world; 
constructing  organs  which  embrace  the  excel- 
lencies of  the   Roosevelt,   the  Votey,   and  the 
Hutchings  systems.    A  typical  and  perhaps  the 
best  product  of  the  Hutchings- Votey  Co.  is  the 
magnificent  organ  in  Woolsey  Hall  at  Yale  Uni- 


5  This  organ  is  now  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich,  in  one  of  the 
halls  of  the  State  University. 


124 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Organ 
at  Yale. 


Austin  Co. 


E.  M. 

Skinner 

Co. 


Robert 
Hope-Jones. 


versity,  built  in  1902.  It  contains  four  man- 
uals, seventy-eight  speaking  stops,  twenty  coup- 
lers and  all  the  wealth  of  modern  appliances 
for  mechanical  control  in  the  way  of  pistons  and 
combination  pedals. 

Another  fine  specimen  of  American  organ 
building  is  the  superb  organ  by  the  Austin  Or- 
gan Co.  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  All  Saints' 
Cathedral  at  Albany,  N.  Y.  Of  the  more  re- 
cent organs  erected  in  this  country  the  most 
notable  is  the  great  organ  in  the  College  of  the 
City  of  'New  York,  built  by  the  Ernest  M.  Skin- 
ner Co.  of  Boston.  It  represents  the  culmination 
of  American  organ  building  to  date,  and  it  vies 
with  the  best  English  makes  in  breadth  and  dig- 
nity and  the  best  French  makes  in  brilliancy. 
As  it  is  intended  purely  for  concert  purposes  it 
has  been  made  as  orchestral  as  possible  and  with 
remarkable  success.  Like  all  great  organ  build- 
ers, Mr.  Skinner's  genius  is  equally  divided  be- 
tween great  mechanical  skill  and  ingenuity  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  ability  to  produce  tones 
of  great  perfection  and  beauty  on  the  other. 

Any  record  of  organ  building  either  in 
America  or  England,  however  fragmentary, 
should  include  mention  of  the  products  of 
the  fertile  brain  of  Kobert  Hope-Jones.  Mr. 
Hope-Jones  has  invented  new  qualities  of  tone 
color  and  has  introduced  radical  changes  into 
all    departments    of   organ    construction.     His 


THE  ORGAN  125 

latest  instruments  are  so  arranged  that  any  stop 
can  be  played  at  any  pitch  from  any  key-board. 
He  employs  cement  swell-boxes  with  tone  re- 
flectors and  laminated  lead  shutters.  Instead 
of  draw  stops  he  employs  what  might  be  termed 
an  extra  key-board,  each  note  of  which  repre- 
sents a  stop  and  is  thrown  on  or  off  by  a  slight 
motion  of  the  finger.  A  clever  device  automat- 
ically provides  a  "suitable  bass"  for  any  combi- 
nation of  stops.  A  so-called  "double-touch''  per- 
mits the  player,  by  pressing  the  keys  more 
deeply,  to  bring  additional  force  to  such  note  or 
notes  as  he  may  desire.  Mr.  Hope-Jones'  abil- 
ities attracted  wide  attention  in  England  before 
he  came  to  this  country.  He  is  now  located  at 
Elmira,  ]N^.  Y.,  where  he  is  president  of  the 
Hope-Jones  Organ  Co.  The  organ  in  the  audi-  organ  at 
torium  at  Ocean  Grove,  X.  J.  (a  building  seat-  Grove, 
ing  ten  thousand  people),  exemplifies  the  Hope- 
Jones  theory  of  producing  unlimited  power  and 
considerable  variety  from  comparatively  few 
stops  by  virtue  of  his  system  of  pipe  construc- 
tion, voicing,  and  heavy  wind-pressures. 

Of  Western  firms  the  more  prominent  are  Smbau 
the  W.  W.  Kimball  Co.,  Lyon  &  Healy,  both  of  ^°'^^^ 
Chicago,  and  the  Marshall  Bennett  Co.  of  Rock  Heaiy. 
Island,   111.     All  these   concerns  have   demon-  Bennett  co. 
strated  their  ability  to  construct  fine  organs  and 
have  excellent  and  notable  instruments  to  their 


126 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Largest  of 
all  organs 
in  America. 


Louisiana 
Purchase 
Exposition 
organ. 


Town  Hall, 
Sydney, 
N.  S.  W. 
Boyal  Albert 
Hall, 
London. 


Auditorium, 
Chicago. 


credit.     Ljon  &  Healy  have  since  ceased  the 
manufacture  of  organs. 

The  largest  organs  in  the  world  are  not  in 
churches  or  cathedrals  but  in  concert  halls,  and 
America  has  the  distinction  of  heading  the  list. 
The  largest  instrument  ever  constructed  was  at 
the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  at  St.  Louis 
in  1904.  It  contained  five  manuals  and  pedals, 
one  hundred  and  forty  speaking  stops,  ninety- 
nine  mechanical  appliances,  and  over  ten  thou- 
sand pipes.  It  was  built  by  the  Los  Angeles  Art 
Organ  Co.  and  its  cost  is  reported  to  have  been 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  organ  was 
intended  for  the  Convention  Hall  at  Kansas 
City,  Mo.,  but  owing  to  financial  complications 
it  was  never  erected  there,  and  it  has  been  dis- 
mantled since  the  exposition.  The  next  concert 
organs  in  size  are  the  famous  instruments  at 
the  Town  Hall '  in  Sydney,  ¥.  S.  W.,  and  at 
the  Royal  Albert  Hall  in  London,  England. 
Both  these  organs  are  London  products,  the 
former  by  Hill  &  Son  in  1889,  and  the  lat- 
ter by  Willis  in  18 Y6.  The  fourth  largest 
is  in  our  own  city  of  Chicago  in  the  Audi- 
torium and  has  four  manuals  and  pedals,  with 
one  hundred  and  seven  stops.  It  was  built 
by  Hilborne  L.  Eoosevelt. 

«  This  organ  has  a  64  ft.  reed  stop  on  the  pedal  organ, 
the  largest  set  of  pipes  ever  constructed.  The  lowest  tone 
vibrates  but  eight  times  per  second. 


THE  ORGAN  127 

The  two  largest  churcli  organs  in  the  world  Largest 

are  both  in  Russia,  one  at  Libau  with  one  hun-  organs  in 

dred  and  thirty-one  stops  and  the  other  at  Riga  Libau  and 

with  one  hundred  and  twenty-four.     The  third  Cathedral 

is  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Incarnation  at  Garden  of  t^e 

Incarnation, 

City,  L.  I.,  and  has  one  hundred  and  fifteen  Garden 

.      .  .  City,  L.  I. 

stops.  This  instrument  marks  a  new  era  in  or- 
gan construction,  as  it  has  an  electric  action  the 
use  of  which  permitted  the  distribution  of  the 
organ  in  various  parts  of  the  church.^  St. 
Bartholomew's,  'New  York  City,  is  the  sixth  in  st.Bar- 

■'  .  .  tholomew's, 

size  and  numbers  ninety-eight  stops.     This  is  New  York, 
in   reality  two   organs   played   from   one   key- 
board, one  being  in  the  chancel,  the  other  in  the 
gallery.' 

Our  own  Church  in  this  country  unquestion- 
ably leads  in  its  appreciation  of  fine  organs,  and 
it  can  take  a  justifiable  pride  in  the  fact  that  it 
possesses  such  a  large  percentage  of  the  best  in- 
struments. That  the  interest  in  organs  and  or- 
gan building  is  widespread  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  out  of  the  twelve  largest  organs  in  the 

•^  The  development  of  the  electric  action  has  made  the 
"Echo  organ"  possible,  whereby  a  few  stops  of  a  more  or 
less  "celestial"  character  are  put  in  some  remote  place. 

8  In  the  old  days  of  quartette  choirs  both  singers  and 
organ  were  placed  in  the  gallery  over  the  main  entrance. 
With  the  introduction  of  male  vested  choirs  a  chancel  organ 
became  necessary.  In  some  churches,  notably  at  "Old  Trin- 
ity," New  York,  two  organists  were  employed  after  the 
manner  of  the  large  churches  in  Paris,  one  at  the  chancel 
organ  to  accompany  the  choir,  the  other  at  the  gallery 
organ  to  play  the  voluntaries.  Several  New  York  churches 
have  had  the  two  organs  connected  by  electricity  and 
played  from  a  combined  console  in  the  chancel.  The  effect 
of  the  two  organs,  especially  in  hymn-singing.   Is  very  fine. 


128 


MU8W  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Organ  most 
effective  as 
a  churcb 
instrument. 


Sustained 
quality  aids 
congrega- 
tional 
singing. 


world,  America  has  four.  Two  of  these  are  in 
Episcopal  Churches,  the  remaining  two  being 
concert  organs. 

While  as  a  concert  instrument  the  organ  fills 
a  large  and  important  place,  it  is  in  the  Church 
that  it  finds  its  true  sphere  of  usefulness  and 
effectiveness.  Its  only  rival  is  the  full  orches- 
tra, and  this,  while  excelling  in  brilliancy,  fa- 
cility, and  pliancy  is  lacking  in  that  sustained 
dignity  and  serenity  which  so  admirably  adapts 
the  organ  for  the  worship  of  Almighty  God. 
Then  it  has  the  practical  advantage  that  it  is 
under  the  control  of  one  man,  and  even  the  most 
extravagant  salary  of  an  organist  is  but  a  small 
matter  compared  with  the  maintenance  of  an 
orchestra. 

The  sustained  quality  of  the  organ  tone  is 
especially  adapted  for  the  support  and  encour- 
agement of  congregational  singing,  and  this  fact 
alone  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  make  the  pur- 
chase and  proper  installation  of  an  organ  the 
subject  of  most  earnest  thought.  Yet  the  church 
architect  will  rarely  give  the  placing  of  the  or- 
gan serious  consideration,  and  the  average  organ 
committee  is  concerned  mostly  about  obtaining 
the  greatest  number  of  pipes  for  the  smallest 
amount  of  money." 

»  The  custom  which  prevails  both  in  this  country  and  in 
England  of  placing  the  selection  of  an  organ  In  the  hands 
of  a  committee  who  have  not  the  slightest  technical  knowl- 
edge, is  certainly  open  to  criticism.  In  Continental  Europe 
the    choice   of   an   organ   builder    in   important    Instances    is 


THE  ORGAN  129 

We  will  now  consider  the  practical  details  deuiis^^ 
involved  in  the  selection  of  an  organ.     In  the  t^e^8«iection 
first  place  it  should  be  selected  for  its  especial  °'san. 
place  and  purpose,  being  neither  too  large  nor 
too  small,  and  should  be  of  the  very  best  quality. 
If  funds  are  not  available  at  once  it  would  be 
far  wiser  to  build  part  of  a  good  organ,  trusting 
to  its  completion  some  later  day,  than  to  rush 
ahead  and  install  a  complete  instrument  of  in- 
ferior make. 

It  is  as  essential  to  have  an  organ  placed  in  ^cltion^* 
a  favorable  position  as  it  is  to  have  the  pulpit,  necessary, 
if  the  instrument  is  to  be  heard  at  its  full  and 
proper  value.  Such  a  foolhardy  experiment  as 
placing  the  preacher  in  an  inaccessible  corner, 
where  his  voice  would  be  expected  to  turn  cor- 
ners, dodge  pillars,  and  penetrate  partitions 
would  hardly  be  attempted,  but  this  is  precisely 
what  happens  to  many  a  fine  instrument. 

An  English  authority,   Somers  Clark,   has  ciark"n 
the  following  illuminating  suggestions  as  to  the  Srgan°"  °^ 
position  of  the  organ : 

"We  all  know  that  an  organ  must  have 
plenty  of  height  above  it,  space  about  it,  and 
must  not  in  itself  be  crowded;  but  there  are 
other  points  upon  which  the  opinion  of  experts 
would  be  of  value. 

"One  of  these  is  the  position  of  the  key- 
placed  in  the  hands  of  organists  and  musicians  of  the  first 
rank.  For  example,  when  a  new  organ  was  required  for 
Notre  Dame,  in  Paris,  such  men  as  Auber,  Rossini,  and  Am- 
broise  Thomas  headed  a  committee  of  specialists. 


130  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

board  in  regard  to  the  organ  and  the  choir. 
Custom,  ruled  to  a  great  extent  by  expense, 
makes  it  usual  to  place  the  organ  on  one  side 
of  the  chancel  and  the  organist  close  to  the 
organ.  The  organist  cannot  hear  his  choir 
clearly.  The  half  of  the  choir  nearest  him 
sings  away  from  him,  the  other  half  sings  to- 
wards him  but  has  the  other  mentioned  half 
intervening.  He  is  generally  so  near  the  organ 
that  he  cannot  clearly  hear  how  much  or  little 
noise  he  is  making  (and  my  experience  is  that 
to  be  on  the  safe  side  he  makes  too  much)  and 
lastly,  having  the  organ  and  voices  so  close  at 
hand  he  knows  but  little  what  the  congregation 
is  about.  As  far  as  the  choir  is  concerned  the 
rules  for  ample  space,  height,  and  width  are  as 
essential  for  the  welfare  of  the  voices  as  of  the 
organ. 

"What  would  then  be  the  conditions  of  an 
ideal  position  for  the  organist? 

"1.    That  he  should  hear  the  choir  well. 

"2.    That  he  should  hear  the  organ. 

"3.  That  he  should  be  able  to  see  the  choir 
well  and  also  see  the  clergy  who  may  be  sei*ving 
at  the  altar. 

"4.  That  he  hear  the  congregation  at  least 
fairly  well. 

"5.  That  he  should  have  a  tolerable  sight 
of  the  nave  of  the  church  and  thus  be  able  to 
keep  his  eye  on  processions  and  other  functions 
taking  place  there. 

"6.  We  might  add  that  he  should  be  able  to 
see  the  organ  in  connection  with  a  side  chapel." 

G.  A.  Audsley,  in  his  monumental  work  on 


THE  ORGAN  131 

the  Art  of  Organ-huilding ,  gives  the  following 
rules  for  a  proper  placing  of  the  organ : 

"1.  Sufficient  floor  space  to  allow  the  organ 
to  stand  without  the  slightest  crowding — also 
back  and  sides  to  give  free  egress  to  sound  and 
easy  access  to  all  parts. 

"2.  Ample  height  at  most  favorable  eleva- 
tion, having  considerable  space  above  for  free 
emission  of  sound  from  all  parts. 

"3.  Arches,  large  as  possible  and  up  to  full 
height  of  ceiling,  the  latter  to  follow  shape  of 
the  arch. 

"4.  Every  precaution  against  dampness  and 
to  secure  equable  temperature.  External  walls 
should  be  double  and  with  air  space.  No  win- 
dows. Chambers  to  be  lined  with  narrow 
grooved  and  tongued  pine,  tightly  joined,  se- 
curely nailed  and  varnished." 

Of  still  greater  importance  than  the  disposi-  J^gJT*"*^® 
tion  of  the  organ  is  the  selection  of  the  builder,  l^iu^i^d^er.**' 
for  a  location  conforming  to  the  ideals  of  both 
Mr.  Clark  and  Mr.  Audsley  will  not  make  a 
poor  instrument  sound  well.  Owing  to  the  gen- 
eral lack  of  information  regarding  organ  build- 
ing, even  among  professional  organists,  and  the 
complicated  mechanism  involved,  it  is  a  simple 
matter  for  an  unscrupulous  dealer  to  market  a 
very  inferior  product.  A  large  number  of  organ 
builders  look  upon  their  business  from  a  com- 
mercial point  of  view,  and  either  ignore  or  are 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  good  organ  building 
is  an  art  and  not  a  trade.     They  honestly  think 


132  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

they  have  done  their  whole  duty  if  they  have 
delivered  an  instrument  reasonably  well  made 
and  conforming  outwardly  to  the  specifications. 
So  much  pressure  is  brought  to  bear  upon  them 
through  competition  and  through  almost  uni- 
versal efforts  to  beat  them  down  on  their  prices 
by  the  churches  themselves,  that  they  are  not 
altogether  to  be  blamed  in  the  matter. 

Sed"^^"^^  Organ  builders  may  be  classed  under  three 

builders.        headings : 

1.  The  unprincipled  builders  who  deliber- 
ately quote  a  price  at  which  it  is  impossible  to 
build  a  good  instrument.  They  are  smooth 
talkers  and  the  uninformed  organ  committee  is 
easily  deceived  by  their  representations.  More 
stops  and  more  pipes  are  offered  than  by  any 
reputable  maker.  Great  stress  is  laid  on  unim- 
portant details  while  the  essential  requisites  are 
carefully  avoided.  They  have  large  factories 
and  do  an  extensive  business,  but  almost  entirely 
in  small  towns  or  among  poor  churches.  ]^o  or- 
ganist of  integrity  and  standing  will  endorse 
them,  though  some  musicians  are  venal  enough 
to  do  so  for  a  consideration.  What  are  the  results  ? 
An  instrument  is  delivered  that  seemingly  com- 
plies with  a  specification  not  overburdened  with 
details.  The  mechanical  construction  is  of  the 
cheapest  and  will  constantly  cause  either  ex- 
pense or  annoyance.  The  organist  will  rarely 
have  the  combined  resources  of  the  instrument 


TEE  ORGAN  133 

at  his  command,  poor  as  thej  are.  Something 
will  always  be  out  of  order.  The  tone  will  be 
harsh  and  unmusical  or  weak  and  characterless ; 
the  wind  supply  is  apt  to  be  insufficient;  there 
will  be  no  agreeable  variety  of  tone  qualities. 
The  lowest  octave  of  pipes  (which  in  a  properly 
constructed  organ  will  cost  as  much  as  the  re- 
maining four  octaves)  will  be  thin  and  wheezy, 
and  stopped  pipes  are  likely  to  be  substituted 
for  open  ones  at  a  great  saving  in  expense.  Even 
if  the  congregation  is  content  with  such  a 
wretched  instrument,  no  self-respecting  organist 
will  play  it  except  under  stress  of  dire  neces- 
sity. He  will  always  be  discontented  and  al- 
ways be  on  the  lookout  for  a  better  instrument. 

2.  The  second  class  of  organ  builders  are  buSSers?**^ 
those  who  do  excellent  mechanical  w^ork,  who 
are  apt  to  be  honest  and  reliable  in  their  deal- 
ings and  try  to  give  value  received.  They  are, 
however,  lacking  in  the  artistic  sense  and  in  the 
scientific  knowledge  necessary  for  first-class 
work.  One  is  reasonably  sure  of  obtaining  a  re- 
liable and  durable  instrument,  of  ample  volume 
and  considerable  variety  of  tone.  Its  mechan- 
ical features  may  be  excellent,  but  it  will  lack 
the  qualities  that  arouse  admiration  and  provoke 
enthusiasm,  and  it  will  never  be  a  source  of 
especial  pride  to  its  owners.  It  will,  however, 
give  good  service,  and  it  is  this  class  of  organ 


134 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Artistic 
builders. 


Good  organ 
building  not 
profitable. 


that  is  most  frequently  to  be  met  with  in  our 
well-to-do  churches. 

3.  The  third  class  of  organ  builders  are 
those  who  are  not  possessed  alone  of  mechanical 
ingenuity  and  skill,  but  are  also  keenly  alive  to 
the  artistic  qualities  necessary  to  produce  a 
really  fine  instrument.  They  realize  that  the 
foundation  of  a  good  organ  are  the  diapasons, 
that  they  must  be  of  ample  scale  and  of  the  best 
material,  yielding  nobility  of  tone  with  ample 
body.  Furthermore  the  flutes  must  be  mellow 
and  clear,  the  strings  must  have  the  character- 
istic ^'biting"  quality  and  the  reeds  be  pungent 
and  pervading,  without  coarseness  or  roughness. 
To  produce  work  of  this  quality  requires  arti- 
sans with  special  gifts  for  voicing  and  regulat- 
ing and  the  use  of  the  best  materials  regardless 
of  cost.  The  best  builders  take  into  considera- 
tion the  size  and  shape  of  the  building  and  the 
location  of  the  instrument.  The  specifications 
give  regard  to  the  proper  grading  and  grouping 
of  tone  values,  giving  volume  on  the  one  hand 
and  delicacy  on  the  other.  Ample  wind  is  sup- 
plied and  every  precaution  taken  to  offset  the 
changes  of  temperature  and  the  effect  of  damp- 
ness. 

Organ  builders  of  this  class,  despite  the  fact 
that  they  will  not  enter  into  competition  con- 
cerning the  price,  do  not  amass  wealth.  On 
the  contrary,  they  frequently  meet  with  fin  an- 


THE  ORGAN  135 

cial  reverses  or  die  with  but  a  small  share  of  this 
world's  goods.  One  of  the  most  noted  of  Eng- 
lish organ  builders,  who  built  a  large  number 
of  the  most  famous  instruments  within  the 
last  half-century,  died  recently  and  left  his 
heirs  but  a  few  hundred  pounds  as  the  net  re- 
sults of  his  pre-eminent  skill  and  incessant 
labor.  A  builder  mentioned  earlier  in  these 
pages  as  a  man  of  wealth  sank  thousands  of  dol- 
lars annually  in  his  laudable  desire  to  do  noth- 
ing but  the  highest  grade  of  work.  The  most 
prominent  organ  building  firm  in  the  country 
has  recently  been  forced  to  make  an  assignment, 
and  one  of  the  largest  music  houses  in  the  world, 
with  ample  capital,  gave  up  the  unequal  struggle 
in  trying  to  make  good  organs  and  a  reasonable 
profit  at  the  same  time. 

The  building  of  a  large  organ  is  a  matter  fsSSl' 
of  such  detail  and  complexity  that  the  final  cost  construction, 
to  the  builder  can  never  be  accurately  estimated 
in  advance.  Unlooked  for  difficulties  in  erec- 
tion, delays  in  transportation,  fluctuation  in  the 
price  of  materials,  and  labor  troubles  are  among 
the  doubtful  factors  to  be  reckoned  with.  The 
estimated  profit  is  frequently  seriously  lessened 
if  not  entirely  wiped  out,  when  the  builder 
tries  honestly  to  fulfil  his  contract.  To  meet 
the  bids  of  less  scrupulous  builders  would  be 
suicidal,  and  a  price  must  be  asked  which  seems 
to  the  uninitiated  decidedly  extravagant. 


136 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Hints 
regarding 
purchase  of 
organ. 


Open  pipes. 


Stopped 
pipes. 


A  church  contemplating  the  purchase  of  a 
new  organ  would  do  well  to  look  thoroughly 
into  the  matter  before  deciding  to  let  a  con- 
tract, and  a  few  hints  will  be  given  that  may 
prove  of  value  to  those  who  have  no  techni- 
cal knowledge  of  organ  construction.  We  will 
take  it  for  granted  that  the  best  woods  are  to  be 
used,  thoroughly  seasoned,  and  that  the  metal 
pipes  will  have  the  proper  proportions  of  tin 
and  zinc.  The  next  matter  for  consideration 
is  the  selection  of  the  stops.  Stops,  or  sets  of 
pipes,  are  technically  named  from  their  tone 
quality  and  from  their  pitch.  Stops  which 
sound  the  same  pitch  as  the  corresponding  notes 
of  the  piano  are  known  as  "eight-foot''  stops  be- 
cause the  lowest  tone  (CC)  is  produced  by  an 
open  pipe  eight  feet  in  length.  As  the  notes 
ascend  the  pipes  gradually  decrease  in  length, 
the  next  C  being  one-half  the  length  of  the 
lowest  pipe,  or  four  feet,  the  next  C  being 
but  two  feet  in  length,  and  the  highest  C, 
three  octaves  higher,  but  three  inches  in  length. 
Piano  pitch  may  also  be  produced  by  taking  a 
4-foot  pipe  for  the  lowest  tone  instead  of  an 
8-foot,  and  plugging  or  stopping  the  top  end  of 
it.  This  produces  an  8-foot  tone  from  a  4-foot 
pipe,  which,  however,  is  dull  and  lifeless.  Open 
pipes  are  therefore  much  more  expensive  than 
stopped  pipes,  as  they  are  twice  as  large.  There 
are   also  4-foot  stops   which   sound   an  octave 


THE  ORGAN  137 

higher  than  piano  pitch,  2-foot  stops  which 
sound  two  octaves  higher  than  piano  pitch,  and 
16-foot  stops  which  sound  an  octave  lower. 
Eight-foot  stops  are  the  normal  and  most  im- 
portant stops  for  the  key-board,  while  16-foot 
stops  are  the  normal  and  most  important 
stops  for  the  pedal  key-board.  The  conclu- 
sion dra^vn  from  this  perhaps  confusing  ex- 
planation, is  that  open  stops  and  stops  of 
eight  and  sixteen  foot  pitch  are  the  most  es- 
sential and  the  most  expensive  stops  of  the 
organ.  Cheap  builders  will  load  up  a  specifi- 
cation with  stopped  pipes  and  pipes  of  4-foot 
and  2-foot  pitch,  which  will  make  a  great 
showing  of  pipes,  but  their  undue  proportion 
results  in  thinness  and  shrillness  of  tone.  Mix-  Mixtures, 
tures  should  also  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion 
in  small  organs,  for  they  are  not  needed.  They 
swell  the  total  number  of  pipes,  as  three  or  more 
pipes  are  used  to  each  note,  but  they  are  exceed- 
ingly small.  Mixtures  have,  however,  an  im- 
portant place  in  large  organs,  adding  a  rich  and 
"crashy"  effect  to  the  full  organ.  The  cheap 
builder  will  also  lessen  his  expense  considerably 
by  using  poor  material  and  by  reducing  the 
scale  or  dimensions  of  the  pipes  at  the  expense 
of  the  tone  quality.  The  open  diapasons  when 
of  ample  scale,  and  properly  constructed  reed  smau. 
stops,  such  as  the  Oboe,  Cornopean,  Clarinet, 
Trumpet,    Vox    Humana,    etc.,    represent    the 


138  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

greatest  items  of  expense  as  far  as  the  stops  are 
concerned,  but  upon  their  quality  depends  the 
real  worth  of  the  organ.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  it  is  possible  to  draw  up  two  specifications, 
each  containing  the  same  number  of  stops  and 
the  same  number  of  pipes,  but  one  may  cost  two 
or  three  times  as  much  as  the  other,  and  its 
artistic  value  may  be  represented  by  a  still 
larger  ratio  of  difference, 
of'smau**^^"  -^^^  small  churches,  seating  from  six  hun- 
organ.  dred  to  eight  hundred  people,  it  would  be  far 

better  to  select  a  thoroughly  good  two-manual 
organ  with  from  nine  to  twelve  stops  than  to  lis- 
ten to  the  importunities  of  a  builder  who  offers 
twice  the  number  of  stops  for  the  same  price. 
A  good  organ,  even  if  limited  in  scope,  will  in- 
terest a  musicianly  organist  and  tend  to  retain 
him.  The  following  specifications  of  a  nine 
stop  organ  really  contain  the  best  parts  of  an 
instrument  of  much  greater  size: 

Gi^eat  Organ. 

FEET. 

Open  Diapason , . .   8 

Gamba 8 

Doppel  Flute 8 

Swell  Organ. 

Violin  Diapason 8 

St.  Diapason 8 

Salicional 8 


THE  ORGAN  139 

Flute 4 

Oboe 8 

Pedal  Organ. 
Bourdon 16 

This  scheme,  with  pneumatic  action,  per- 
mitting the  addition  of  sub  and  super  octave 
couplers,  would  give  great  variety  and  ample 
power  if  properly  constructed.  Each  funda- 
mental quality  of  organ  tone  is  well  represented, 
the  diapason  tone  by  the  Open  Diapason  and  the 
Violin  Diapason,  the  string  tone  by  the  Gamba 
and  the  Salicional,  and  the  flute  tone  by  the 
Dopped  Flute,  the  Stopped  Diapason,  the 
4:-foot  Flute  and  the  pedal  Bourdon,  and  the 
reed  tone  by  the  Oboe.  The  Oboe  would  be 
equally  useful  as  a  solo  stop,  in  combination 
with  other  stops,  or  in  the  full  organ,  where  it 
would  add  color  and  richness.  Such  an  organ 
from  the  best  makers  would  cost  quite  as  much 
as  the  ordinary  organ  of  twice  the  nominal  stop 
capacity,  but  the  latter  would  be  vastly  inferior 
in  body  and  in  quality,  and  would  be  overladen 
with  cheap  four  and  eight  foot  stops.  A  con-  JJ^afirst-^ 
congregation  takes  both  pride  and  pleasure  class  organ, 
in  the  possession  of  a  really  fine  instrument, 
and  it  would  be  a  constant  incentive  to  devo- 
tion by  leading  in  the  hymns,  by  enriching 
the  work  of  the  choir,  and  by  appealing  to  the 
finer  emotions  through  well-selected  voluntaries. 


140 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


A  poor 
instrument 
a  bad 
investment. 


Care  of 
organ. 


Incidentally  many  a  repair  bill  would  be  saved 
and  the  choir  would  be  spared  the  embarrass- 
ment of  depending  upon  a  faulty  and  uncertain 
instrument. 

A  poor  instrument  is  a  constant  irritant  to 
the  musically  sensitive  and  a  never-ending 
source  of  dissatisfaction  to  all  concerned.  The 
more  capable  the  organist,  the  more  ready  he 
will  be  to  accept  the  first  position  which  offers 
a  better  organ.  The  inadequacy  of  his  instru- 
ment will  be  a  constant  damper  to  his  ambitions 
both  as  a  player  and  a  choirmaster.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  choir  will  have  the  discouraging 
feeling  that  their  best  efforts  are  more  or  less 
discounted  by  the  organ,  and  there  is  always 
the  possibility  of  the  mechanism  getting  out  of 
gear  at  the  most  inopportune  moments.  The 
real  value  of  such  an  instrument  is  discovered 
when  an  attempt  is  made  to  dispose  of  it. 

A  word  as  to  the  care  of  the  organ.  Most  or- 
gan or  music  committees  are  disposed  to  think 
that  after  an  organ  has  been  purchased  and  in- 
stalled, especially  if  it  is  from  the  hands  of  a 
prominent  and  reliable  maker,  that  nothing  re- 
mains to  be  done.  If  an  organ  were  kept  in  a 
room  of  even  temperature  and  reasonably  free 
from  dust  and  dampness  it  would  require  but 
little  attention  indeed.  Unfortunately  it  is  gen- 
erally placed  in  a  building  where  the  tempera- 
ture may  vary  in  twenty-four  hours  from  the 


THE  ORGAN  141 

freezing  point  to  seventy  degrees.  An  organ  is  nlJ^g^,^^^^®" 
far  more  sensitive  to  changes  in  temperature 
th^n  a  piano,  for  it  is  far  more  complicated  and 
delicate.  Dampness  is  its  arch-enemy,  dust  and 
smoke  it  cannot  endure,  and  rats,  mice,  or  cats 
can  do  it  endless  mischief.  It  therefore  stands 
to  reason  that  if  the  organ  is  not  safeguarded 
against  these  various  evils  trouble  will  result 
even  with  the  very  best  constructed  instrument. 
Take  the  matter  of  tuning,  for  example.  It  is 
usually  done  on  Saturdays  before  the  church  is  J^JJlgr^ature 
warmed  up  to  the  Sunday  standard.  The  tuner 
will  leave  it  in  good  shape,  but  a  change  of  ten 
degrees  will  spoil  all  his  work,  for  wood  and 
metal  are  affected  differently  by  changes  of  tem- 
perature. In  fact,  the  organ  is  so  sensitive  that 
it  may  be  in  tune  at  the  beginning  of  a  service 
and  be  badly  out  before  the  close,  if  the  tempera- 
ture is  raised  considerably  by  the  presence  of 
the  congregation.  The  excessive  changes  in  a 
building  which  is  only  heated  up  once  a  week 
are  also  trying  to  the  mechanism,  and  it  is  no 
cause  for  wonder  if  something  goes  astray. 

Variations  of  temperature,  however,  are  not  Dampnsfs. 
so  trying  as  dampness.  We  all  know  how  that  af- 
fects our  household  furniture,  and  when  we  con- 
sider that  several  scores  of  keys  are  connected 
with  several  hundreds  of  pipes,  not  to  mention 
the  stop  action,  it  is  really  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  organs  behave  as  well  as  they  do,  consider- 


142  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

ing  how  ill  they  are  treated.  Organs  are  still 
placed  in  pockets  or  recesses  where  proper  venti- 
lation is  impossible  and  where  the  normal  tem- 
perature of  the  building  never  penetrates.  As 
a  result  the  metal  rusts,  the  wood  swells,  the 
leather  decays.  Under  these  conditions  a  poor 
organ  is  apt  to  have  one  advantage  over  a  good 
one  for  the  reason  that  the  woodwork  is  green 
and  will  not  absorb  as  much  moisture.  The 
simple  expedient  of  a  burning  lamp  or  two  in  an 
organ  chamber  (with  proper  ventilation),  has 
been  known  to  revolutionize  the  working  ca- 
pacity of  a  troublesome  instrument. 
Cleaning.  j^j^    Organ     should     also     be     periodically 

cleaned  in  order  to  keep  it  in  favorable  playing 
condition.  This  is  usually  left  until  it  is  an 
imperative  necessity  and  then  the  much  abused 
instrument  will  need  extensive  repairs  to  pay 
for  the  neglect.  The  thorough  cleaning  of  an 
instrument  is  a  matter  that  can  only  be  under- 
taken by  organ  builders,  for  it  necessitates  the 
dismantling  of  the  pipes,  the  opening  of  the 
wind  chests,  and  a  general  dismembering  of  the 
action.  A  superficial  dusting  of  the  surface 
accumulations  of  dust  is  a  very  dangerous  thing 
to  do,  for  it  is  apt  to  remove  it  from  places 
where  it  is  doing  no  especial  harm  to  the  inner 
mechanism,  where  it  will  do  a  great  deal  of 
harm.  For  this  reason  an  organ  tuner  moves 
about  with  great  circumspection  when  pursuing 


THE  ORGAN  143 

his  work.  When  one  takes  into  account  the 
wholesale  neglect  to  which  organs  are  generally 
subjected  it  is  certainly  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  so  many  instruments  render  fair  service 
Sunday  after  Sunday. 

Up  to  some  forty  years  ago,  organs  in  this  Tracker 
country  were  supplied  with  tracker  actions,  a 
system  which  connected  the  keys  with  the  pipes 
by  means  of  narrow  strips  of  wood.  For  small 
organs  this  system  was  quite  satisfactory  and  is 
in  use  to  the  present  day.  In  large  instruments, 
however,  the  duplication  of  this  mechanical 
device  for  several  keyboards  makes  the  action  so 
heavy  that  it  is  well-nigh  unplayable.  This  led  fn|e™ctj.ig 
to  the  invention  of  the  pneumatic  action  already  actions, 
mentioned,  and  later  to  a  combination  of  elec- 
tric and  pneumatic  action.  By  means  of  these 
systems  the  action  is  made  as  light  or  lighter 
than  that  of  a  piano,  regardless  of  the  size  of  the 
instrument.  It  is  only  in  quite  recent  years 
that  the  electric  action  has  been  brought  to  that 
state  of  perfection  that  it  can  be  absolutely  re- 
lied upon.  With  its  use  the  keyboard  may  be 
any  distance  from  the  instrument,  or  the  various 
departments  of  the  organ  may  be  distributed  in 
various  parts  of  the  building.  Echo  organs 
may  be  placed  in  distant  towers  or  concealed  in 
hidden  chambers.  The  adaptation  of  electricity 
has  also  greatly  increased  the  means  of  con- 
trol and  greatly  lightened  the  labor  of  the  or- 


144 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Increase  of 
mechanical 
appliances. 


Lemare's 
criticism  of 
American 
organs. 


ganist  in  the  management  of  the  stops  and  of 
other  mechanical  appliances.  In  fact  this  fea- 
ture of  organ  building  has  been  developed  to 
such  an  extent  that  organists  are  beginning  to 
crj  ^'Hold !  enough !''  for  it  has  arrived  at  such 
a  degree  of  complexity  that  the  human  brain 
cannot  contain  it  all.  In  the  olden  days  an  or- 
ganist with  a  fifty-stop  organ  would  have  three 
manual  keyboards,  a  pedal  keyboard,  six  coup- 
lers, one  swell  pedal,  and  six  or  eight  combina- 
tion pedals  to  look  after  in  addition  to  his  fifty 
stops.  ^Nowadays  in  the  same  size  organ  he 
will  have  his  fifty  stops,  eighteen  or  twenty  pis- 
tons, twelve  or  more  couplers,  as  many  combina- 
tion pedals,  two  swell  pedals,  and  a  crescendo 
pedal.  While  all  these  appliances  facilitate  the 
manipulation  of  the  organ,  they  also  increase 
the  chances  of  making  slips,  and  a  nervous  or- 
ganist is  in  constant  trepidation  lest  some  over- 
sight will  result  in  an  unexpected  explosion  of 
sound.  America  has  certainly  outstripped 
Europe  in  the  development  of  these  mechanical 
appliances,  but  they  are  severely  criticised  by 
foreign  organists,  notably  by  Edwin  H.  Lemare, 
who  is  probably  the  greatest  organ  virtuoso  liv- 
ing, and  who  is  phenomenally  clever  in  feats  of 
registration  and  in  the  reproduction  of  orches- 
tral effects.  Mr.  Lemare  claims  that  Yankee 
ingenuity  has  overshot  the  mark  and  that  many 
of  these  would-be  aids  to  ready  registration  are 


TEE  ORGAN  145 

in  reality  hindrances.  A  uniform  system  of  ^^emof 
control  would  be  a  great  boon  to  organists,  for  SesSiie. 
they  would  then  be  saved  the  mental  wear  and 
tear  of  constantly  learning  new  systems.  'Not 
only  has  every  enterprising  organ  builder  his 
own  particular  fads  and  fancies  in  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  stops,  pistons,  and  levers,  but  he  is 
continually  improving,  or  at  least  changing,  his 
own  system.  The  following  advice  and  crit- 
icism from  the  highest  living  authority  may 
well  be  heeded  by  every  American  builder : 

"In  America  I  have  found  many  good  or-   Guilmanf  s 


gans.  They  are  especially  effective  in  the 
softer  stops,  such  as  the  Dulciana,  Flutes,  and 
Gamba.  But  the  full  organ  lacks  resonance 
and  does  not  thrill.  I  do  not  think  the  mix- 
tures and  reeds  of  the  Great  organ  should  be 
included  in  the  swell-box,  as  this  weakens  the 
tone  and  destroys  proper  balance.  The  pedals 
in  American  organs  are  not  so  clear  and  dis- 
tinct as  they  should  be.  They  lack  the  8-foot 
and  the  4-foot  tone.  The  effect  is  the  same  as 
if  there  were  too  many  double  basses  in  the 
orchestra  and  not  enough  'cellos.  The  16-foot 
Open  Diapason  in  the  Great  organ  is  so  power- 
ful that  every  organ  should  have  also  the 
milder  16-foot  Bourdon,  which  gives  mellow 
quality  to  the  foundation  stops.  But,  as  a  rule, 
the  softer  16-foot  stops  are  wholly  lacking  in 
American  organs. 

"Organ  builders  should  devote  less  time  to 
mechanical  improvements,  and  more  time  to 
improving  the  tone  of  their  instruments.     Me- 


critlclsm. 


146  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

chanical  appliances  are  multiplying  so  fast 
that  soon  an  organist  will  be  unable  to  occupy 
himself  with  anything  except  the  mechanism 
of  his  instrument.  This  is  much  to  be  deplored. 
Organ-playing  should  be  essentially  musical, 
and  as  far  as  possible  in  the  pure  style  of  the 
organ.  It  should  not  involve  constant  changes 
of  registration.  There  is  too  much  tendency 
to  use  vibrating  stops — Vox  Celeste  and  Vox 
Humana." 

These  words  are  from  the  pen  of  Alexandre 
Guilmant,  and  every  truly  musical  organist  will 
agree  with  him. 
Solo  pia3ring  The  orffan  as  a  solo  instrument  is  used  more 

more  general  •      i  i  •      m        •         i        -r-i 

in  France.  extensively  and  systematically  m  the  French 
Roman  Catholic  churches  than  in  those  of  any 
other  denomination  or  country.  All  the  larger 
churches  in  Paris  are  provided  with  two  organs : 
a  small  one  in  the  chancel  to  accompany  the 
choristers,  and  a  large  one  over  the  main  portal 
used  chiefly  for  voluntaries.  In  the  more  promi- 
nent churches  these  gallery  organs  are  famous 
and  produce  a  thrilling  effect  with  their  full 
power  despite  the  vastness  of  the  edifices.  On 
listening  to  organs  such  as  these  Honore  de 
Balzac,  that  masterful  delineator  of  human 
character,  has  been  moved  to  speak  as  follows: 

fJ'^^^'^  "The   organ   is   in   truth   the  grandest,   the 

most  daring,  and  the  most  magnificent  instru- 
ment invented  by  human  genius.  It  is  a  whole 
orchestra  in  itself.  It  can  express  anything  in 
response   to   a   skilled   touch.     Surely   it   is   in 


THE  ORGAN  147 

some  sort  a  pedestal  on  which  the  soul  poises 
for  a  flight  forth  into  space,  essaying  on  her 
course  to  draw  picture  after  picture  in  endless 
series,  to  paint  human  life,  to  cross  the  Infinite 
that  separates  heaven  from  earth.  And  the 
longer  a  dreamer  listens  to  those  giant  har- 
monies the  better  he  realizes  that  nothing  save 
the  hundred-voiced  choir  on  earth  can  fill  all 
the  space  between  kneeling  man  and  a  God  hid- 
den by  the  blinding  light  of  the  sanctuary.  The 
music  is  the  one  interpreter  strong  enough  to 
bear  up  the  prayers  of  humanity  to  heaven, 
prayer  in  its  omnipresent  moods,  prayer  tinged 
by  the  melancholy  of  many  different  natures, 
colored  by  meditative  ecstasy,  upspringing  with 
the  impulse  of  repentance,  blending  with  the 
myriad  fancies  of  every  creed.  Yes,  in  the 
long-vaulted  aisles  the  melodies  inspired  by  the 
sense  of  things  Divine  are  blest  with  a  grandeur 
unknown  before,  and  decked  with  a  new  glory 
and  might.  Out  of  the  dim  daylight  and  the 
deep  silence,  broken  by  chanting  of  the  choir  in 
response  to  the  thunder  of  the  organ,  a  veil  is 
woven  for  God,  and  the  brightness  of  His  at- 
tributes shines  through  it." 


musicians. 


IV. 

The  Organist  and  Choirmaster. 

good^'*^  Organists  as  a  class  are  credited  with  being 

better  musicians  than  pianists,  singers,  or  play- 
ers of  orchestral  instruments.  The  reason  for 
this  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  pianist,  for  ex- 
ample, rarely  has  further  demands  made  upon 
his  artistic,  theoretical,  or  technical  equipment 
than  the  effective  performance  of  a  fixed  task. 
In  the  practical  pursuit  of  his  profession  it  is 
not  ordinarily  necessary  that  he  read  music  well 
at  sight  or  that  he  be  able  to  transpose  readily. 
To  be  sure,  we  read  of  astonishing  feats  at  the 
piano,  such  as  Liszt's  wonderful  power  in  seiz- 
ing at  a  glance  the  essential  features  of  a  full 
orchestral  score  and  transcribing  it  on  the  in- 
stant for  the  key-board,  or  of  Brahms  transpos- 
ing the  entire  Kreutzer  Sonata  a  half  tone  lower 
when  confronted  with  an  instrument  tuned  too 
high;  but  these  men  were  composers  as  well  as 
pianists.  The  professional  accompanist  should 
surely  be  able  to  meet  any  reasonable  demand 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         149 

of  the  singer  for  a  change  of  key,  but  to  the 
average  pianist  transposition  is  an  unknown 
art  and  the  ability  to  read  readily  at  sight  ex- 
ceptional. Then  the  pianist's  knowledge  of 
harmony,  counterpoint,  and  composition  is  rare- 
ly called  into  practical  use,  and  he  may  enjoy 
a  world-wide  reputation  as  a  virtuoso  and  have 
very  scant  knowledge  of  the  theoretical  side  of 
his  art. 

ISTot  so  with  the  professional  organist.  If  SSt^ead 
he  has  a  post  of  any  importance  at  all  and  is  ^g^^** 
capable  of  filling  it  in  any  adequate  way,  he 
must  be  well  equipped,  ^ot  infrequently 
is  he  called  upon  to  play  difficult  accompani- 
ments without  preparation.  He  is  expected 
not  only  to  play  them  correctly  but  to  adapt 
himself  to  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  singer 
and  be  ready  to  rally  at  any  moment  to  his  sup- 
port should  he  show  any  signs  of  weakness  or 
uncertainty.     For  singers  are  the  least  reliable  singers  poor 

.    .  .  .  ...      readers. 

of  all  musicians,  and  if  they  sing  at  sight  it  is 
apt  to  be  after  the  fashion  of  the  famous  singer 
whose  abilities  in  that  direction  were  tested  by 
the  great  Handel,  and  after  an  ignominious 
failure  the  candidate  still  protested  that  he 
could  sing  at  sight — but  not  at  first  sight. 

Tben  the  capable  organist  should  at  least  Organists 
have  the  ability  to  play  the  choral  service,  the  transpose, 
hymns  and  chants  in  any  desired  key.     If  the 
service  is  sluggish  and  dull  a  little  higher  pitch 


150  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH. 

will  put  new  life  into  it.  If  the  choir  or  con- 
gregation is  flatting  in  the  chanting  or  hymn- 
singing,  a  rousing  interlude  and  a  change  of 
key  will  invariably  improve  the  situation. 
Many  priests  in  intoning  the  service  will  have 
a  strong  tendency  to  change  to  a  more  con- 
venient pitch,  and  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for 
the  organist  to  accommodate  him,  rather  than 
be  continually  trying  to  "boost"  him  to  the 
proper  key.  The  clergy  sometimes  get  credit 
for  phenomenal  ability  in  striking  the  right 
pitch,  when  in  point  of  fact  it  is  the  cleverness 
of  the  organist  in  adapting  himself  to  the  pitch 
of  the  priest  that  is  phenomenal.  As  many  of 
the  older  organs  are  tuned  to  the  old  Concert 
Pitch  (which  is  nearly  a  semi-tone  above  the 
present  International  Pitch),  many  organists 
will  transpose  difficult  Te  Deums  or  anthems 
that  they  may  be  sung  nearer  the  key  intended 
by  the  composer,  and  that  the  choir  may  be  re- 
lieved from  the  strain  of  the  higher  pitch. 
Snfst^a?-  Then  the  good  organist  should  be  able  to 

Sght!***  harmonize  a  tune  well  at  sight,  or  to  vary  the 
harmonies  to  a  hymn  or  chant  when  they  are 
sung  in  unison.  To  do  this  in  good  taste  and 
with  a  ready  facility  requires  not  only  a  thor- 
ough understanding  of  the  complicated  arts  of 
harmony  and  counterpoint,  but  also  an  inborn 
intuitive  taste.  Hymn  singing  may  be  trans- 
formed by  a  good  organ  accompaniment,  and  if 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         151 

a  congregation  is  taught  to  understand  that  an 
organ  interlude  is  an  indication  that  the  suc- 
ceeding verse  is  to  be  sung  in  unison,  inspiring 
climaxes  may  be  effected  through  the  use  of 
richer  harmonies  and  freer  modulations. 

Again,  the  organist  must  be  ready  to  im-  mSt^^*^ 
proviso  at  a  moment's  notice  in  order  to  fill  in  improvise. 
any  unexpected  gaps  in  the  service.     To  do  this 
artistically  calls  upon  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  laws  of  composition  and  decided  gifts 
of  imagination  and  conception. 

Lastly,   the   organist  must  have   a   feeling  ^^^^^^'^ 
for  tone  color  and  a  knowledge  of  orchestral  ef-   "gistrate. 
fects.     The  organ  is  the  only  instrument  con- 
trolled by  one  player  which  contains  radically 
different  qualities  of  tone.     It  is  in  fact  a  col- 
lection of  many  instruments  which  can  be  used 
singly  or  in  combination.     The  piano  has  been 
likened  to  a  photograph  with  its  infinite  grada- 
tions of  light  and  shade,  but  all  of  one  tone,   fJJ5°°' °'^*° 
while  the  orchestra  suggests  the  richness  and  °J^®JJg5 
variety  of  color  in  an  oil  painting.     Although 
the  organ  lacks  the  plasticity  and  finish  of  the 
orchestra,   still  its  possibilities  in  the  way  of 
tonal  variety  are  great  and  it  is  the  only  instru- 
ment that  approximates  in  any  way  orchestral 
effects.     While   any  single   instrument   of   the 
orchestra  will  exceed  in  beauty  of  tone  and  ex- 
pressiveness the  corresponding  tone  quality  in 
the  organ,  still  the  latter  with  all  its  restrictions 


152  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

often  offers  an  effective  substitute  for  a  full  or- 
chestra, and  it  possesses  other  qualities  in  the 
way  of  sustained  grandeur  which  adapts  it  to 
the  peculiar  needs  of  Church  music  far  better 
than  an  orchestra/ 
Education  of  How  is  the  orfijanist  educated  to  fit  him  for 

organist.  ^ 

such  an  arduous  and  exacting  task?     For  he 

must  not  only  be  a  good  musician  theoretically, 

but  also  have  skill  as  an  executant  of  a  high 

English  order.     In  England,  that  land  which  excels  all 

opportu-  1  '        n 

nities.  others  in  fine  organs  and  clever  organists,  in 

the  beauty  of  its  musical  services  and  in  the 
grandeur  of  its  churches,  it  is  managed  in  one 
of  two  ways.  Either  the  would-be  organist  en- 
ters a  good  school  of  music  where  he  receives  a 
thorough  training  in  the  various  branches  be- 
longing to  the  profession,  or  (as  has  been  the 
experience  of  most  of  the  celebrated  English 
organists)   he  becomes  an  "articled  pupil"   of 

Articled  some  Cathedral  organist.  An  "articled  pupil" 
is  always  some  talented  youth  who  is  accepted 
as  a  musical  ward  by  the  skilled  specialist  who 
has  charge  of  the  organ  and  music  of  one  of 
the  numerous  English  Cathedrals.  The  lad  re- 
ceives his  entire  musical  education  at  the  hands 


1  The  varied  demands  which  are  made  upon  the  musical 
resources  of  the  organist  are  apt  to  stimulate  his  musical 
fancy,  and  this  no  doubt  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the 
great  majority  of  American  composers  come  from  the  ranks 
of  the  organ  players.  MacDowell  is  perhaps  the  only  prom- 
inent exception,  but  such  composers  as  Dudley  Buck,  Ho- 
ratio Parker,  George  W.  Chadwick,  Arthur  Foote,  and  a  host 
of  lesser  lights  bear  testimony  to  the  accuracy  of  the  state- 
ment. 


TEE  0RGANI8T  AND  CHOIRMASTER         153 

of  this  specialist,  and  in  return  the  instructor 
commands  the  services  of  his  pupil,  who  sooner 
or  later  becomes  assistant  organist.  The  pu- 
pil is  nearly  always  from  the  ranks  of  the 
choir,  and  he  thus  has,  from  his  early  youth, 
the  unequalled  advantage  of  hearing  nothing 
but  the  best  of  Church  music  performed  in  an 
exceptional  manner.  He  grows  up  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  good  ecclesiastical  art  and  is  familiar 
with  the  best  traditions.  Given  a  moderate 
amount  of  talent  and  industry  he  cannot  help 
but  develop  into  an  excellent  organist  and  choir- 
master. From  the  American  point  of  view  an 
organist  thus  trained  is  apt  to  be  rather  hide- 
bound by  his  traditions  and  lacking  in  force 
and  enterprise,  but  his  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  service,  his  smooth  style  of  playing,  and  his 
regard  for  the  dignity  of  the  service  are  per- 
haps better  assets  than  American  energy  and 
initiative,  combined  as  it  so  frequently  is  with 
a  lack  of  sound,  musical  Churchmanship. 

The  Cathedral  system  of  England  has  been  J^^^Jim'^f/ 
a  veritable  nursery  for  the  development  of  England. 
Church  music,  and  all  who  have  had  the 
privilege  of  learning  the  results  of  the  system 
will  readily  admit  its  superiority.  A  large 
majority  of  the  prominent  English  composers 
have  come  directly  from  the  ranks  of  Cathedral 
choirs  or  from  those  of  the  Chapels  Royal.  Sir 
John  Goss,  George  T.   Smart  and  Edward  J. 


154  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

Hopkins  were  all  products  of  the  Chapel  Kojal 
at  St.  James'  Palace,  London;  while  Joseph 
Barnby  came  from  York  Cathedral  and  Sir 
John  Stainer  from  St.  Paul's,  London.  A  lad  of 
musical  sensitiveness  is  fortunate  indeed  if  he 
fall  under  the  influence  of  such  a  system  in  his 
early  youth,  for  it  means  the  unconscious  ab- 
sorption of  the  best  expression  of  religious 
music,  and  the  acquirement  of  standards  of 
judgment  which  will  be  invaluable  in  after  life, 
portunitiesr  -^^^  what  does  the  would-be  organist  of  our 
great  Middle  West  do  if  he  wishes  to  thoroughly 
prepare  himself  as  an  organist  and  choirmaster  ? 
Music  schools  there  are  in  plenty  and  excellent 
work  is  done  in  some  directions,  but  none  of 
them  oifer  anything  like  an  exhaustive  course 
in  organ  playing  and  choir  directing  so  far  as 
it  concerns  our  own  Church.  We  have  no  long- 
established  Cathedrals  whose  services  are  ac- 
knowledged types  of  the  best  usage,  and  the 
post  of  organist  is  of  such  uncertain  tenure 
that  the  "articled  pupiF'  system  is  all  but  im- 
possible. 

S^American*  "^^^  development  of  the  average  American 
organist.  organist  is  somewhat  after  this  fashion:  On 
exhibiting  a  little  interest  in  music  in  his  child- 
hood he  will  have  some  desultory  piano  lessons, 
usually  from  a  young  woman  of  very  limited 
attainments.  When  he  gets  into  his  teens  the 
organ    attracts    him.     With    very    inadequate 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         155 

technical  preparation  he  will  take  organ  lessons 
from  a  local  organist.  If  he  lives  in  a  fair- 
sized  city  he  may  receive  very  good  instruction 
as  far  as  organ  playing  in  concert  is  concerned, 
but  the  chances  are  that  he  will  acquire  next  to 
no  knowledge  of  Church  music  in  general,  and 
even  less  of  the  especial  music  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  His  principal  energies  will  be  bent 
upon  concert-playing,  and  if  he  is  fairly  capable 
and  a  good  worker  he  will,  by  the  time  he  has 
turned  into  the  twenties,  be  able  to  give  very 
respectable  organ  recitals.  If  he  secures  a  po- 
sition in  a  denominational  church  and  is  at  all 
resourceful  he  will  get  along  fairly  well,  but  if 
he  accepts  a  position  in  one  of  our  own  churches 
with  any  pretensions  to  a  good  choral  service  he 
will  soon  realize  the  inadequacies  of  his  train- 
ing. He  will  know  nothing  of  the  traditions 
of  the  choral  service  and  will  have  difficulty 
with  the  simplicity  of  Tallis'  responses.  The  Difficulties 
chanting  of  the  canticles  and  psalms  will  be  Episcopal 
more  complicated  to  him  than  the  playing  ser^ce- 
of  a  Bach  fugue,  and  Gregorians  will  be  a  ver- 
itable hete  noire.  He  will  have  had  no  experi- 
ence in  improvising,  modulating,  transposing,  or 
off-hand  harmonizing.  The  order  of  the  service, 
especially  a  choral  celebration,  will  be  an 
inextricable  maze,  and  the  conclusion  will  be 
forced  upon  him  that  he  has  been  very  poorly 
prepared    for    his    profession    as    far    as    the 


156 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Special 

training 

required. 


Organ 
playing  a 
ministry  of 
the  church. 


Irreligion  of 
organists. 


Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  America  is 
concerned.  He  will  also  discover  that  this 
same  Church  is  the  only  one  with  any  definite 
musical  system  or  standards,  that  music  is 
an  integral  and  important  part  of  the  service, 
and  that  special  training  and  talent  are  re- 
quired on  the  part  of  its  organists  and  choir- 
masters. In  consequence  of  these  conditions 
he  will  furthermore  learn  that  the  Episcopal 
Church  offers  a  far  more  interesting  and  lucra- 
tive field  than  the  sectarian  Churches. 

The  fundamental  mistake  in  this  organist's 
education  has  been  that  he  pursued  his  work 
purely  from  the  secular  side  and  no  atten- 
tion had  been  paid  to  it  as  a  ministry  of  the 
Church.  Church  organists  should  be  primarily 
Churchmen  and  secondarily  musicians,  but  sad 
to  relate  the  reverse  is  the  rule  and  there  are 
all-too-many  organists  whose  interest  in  religion 
has  reached  the  vanishing  point.  The  interest 
of  this  large  class  of  organists  is  principally 
confined  to  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  they 
get  out  of  the  purely  musical  side  of  their  work. 
They  may  have,  and  frequently  do  have,  excel- 
lent taste  as  regards  Church  music,  but  the 
proper  attitude  of  mind  is  lacking.  Even  our 
sectarian  brethren  have  been  stirred  by  this  pre- 
vailing irreligion  among  organists  and  choir 
directors,  and  the  Congregationalists,  at  least, 
have  attempted  to  improve  the  situation.     They 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         157 

have  founded  an  affiliated  school  of  music  with 
one  of  their  Theological  Seminaries,  the 
avowed  intention  of  which  is  to  teach  the  theo- 
logical students  something  about  music  and  its 
relation  to  religion,  and  the  musical  students 
something  about  religion  and  its  relation  to 
music.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  organists 
who  are  first  concerned  about  the  fitting  wor- 
ship of  Almighty  God  according  to  the  best  of 
their  musical  gifts  are  few  indeed,  while  the 
opposite  type,  who  use  their  positions  to  ex- 
ploit their  own  cleverness,  and  who  consider  a 
church  as  primarily  a  place  to  give  recitals  in, 
are  all  too  numerous. 

When  we  reflect  that  the  development  of 
Churchly  musical  services  after  the  English  istsand 
model  has  taken  place  only  within  the  past  half  masters, 
century,  and  when  we  take  into  consideration 
the  fact  that  the  American  Church  makes  no 
provision  whatever  for  the  training  of  its  musi- 
cians, it  is  not  surprising  that  there  should  be 
such  a  dearth  of  good  organists  and  choir- 
masters. 

While  we  do  not  have  the  English  Cathedral  Jho?r8*^a 
system  in  its  completeness  to  develop  our  musi-  gj^o!?"* 
cians,  still  our  vested  choirs  serve  as  a  base  of 
supply  and  a  preliminary  training  school  for 
our  future  Church  musicians.  Many  of  the 
best  and  most  successful  organists  and  choir- 
masters in  E'ew  York  are  "old  Trinity  boys,'' 


Dearth  of 
good  organ- 


158 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Diocesan 
School  of 
Church 
Music. 


Besponsibil- 
ity  of  the 
organist. 


while  here  in  Chicago  we  have  already  direct 
results  from  the  ranks  of  the  pioneer  vested 
choirs  of  this  city  among  our  prominent  musi- 
cians. If  this  early  start  in  the  choir  ranks 
could  only  be  followed  up  by  a  comprehensive 
course  in  a  well-equipped  diocesan  school  of 
Church  music  our  musical  future  would  be 
more  promising.  An  ideal  school  of  such  a  type 
should  be  well-endowed  and  under  the  guidance 
and  supervision  of  a  musician  of  wide  experi- 
ence, superior  training,  and  above  all,  sound 
Churchmanship.  This  institution  would  nat- 
urally be  associated  with  the  Cathedral  of  the 
diocese.  The  Cathedral,  if  possible,  should 
maintain  daily  choral  services  of  a  high  stand- 
ard which  should  serve  as  practical  models  to 
the  musical  students,  l^ot  only  should  expert 
organists  be  trained  in  such  an  institution,  but 
special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  art  of 
developing  the  boy  voice,  an  art  that  is  but  lit- 
tle understood  in  this  country. 

The  organist  divides  with  the  officiating 
priest  the  responsibility  for  the  religious  atmos- 
phere of  the  church  service.  By  well-considered 
voluntaries,  by  an  earnest  desire  to  swell  the 
hymn  of  praise  or  deepen  the  fervor  of  prayer, 
he  may  materially  augment  the  ministrations 
of  the  priest  and  sensibly  aid  the  devotions  of 
the  congregation.  On  the  contrary,  by  begin- 
ning divine  worship  with  an  irrelevant  or  tri- 


TEE  ORGANIST  AND  CE0IRMA8TEB         159 

fling  organ  selection,  bv  playing  the  chants  or 
hymns  in  a  careless  or  flippant  manner,  or  by 
making  evident  a  desire  to  "show  ofl"  the  organ 
or  his  own  performance,  he  can  seriously  dis- 
turb the  reverent  impulses  of  the  people  and 
nullify  in  a  measure  the  efforts  of  the  priest.^ 

It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  how  little  at-  ^oSarieiL 
tention  is  paid  to  the  selection  of  voluntaries 
and  how  little  considered  is  their  fitness  to  the 
rest  of  the  service.     In  England  and  Xorthem 
Germany,  at  least,  better  standards  prevail,  and 
the  typical  American  custom  of  playing  a  sen- 
timental  Romance   or    Serenade   on   the    Oboe 
with  Tremolo  for  an  opening  voluntary,  would 
hardly    be    tolerated.     Xor    would    the    noisy 
march  for  a  closing  voluntary  meet  with  greater 
favor.     The  whole  question  is  most  pertinently  Dr.  Duffleid 
summed  up  by  the  Eev.  Howard  Duffield,  D.D.,   voluntary, 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Xew  York 
City,  who  is  himself  an  organist  and  musician 


2  Only  recently  the  writer  attended  service  in  a  promi- 
nent church  in  a  large  Eastern  city.  To  his  utter  amaze- 
ment and  disgust  the  organist  played  a  sensuous  and  im- 
passioned love  song  from  Saint  Saens'  "Samson  and  De- 
lilah" while  the  congregation  were  receiving  the  Holy  Com- 
munion. As  if  this  were  not  a  sufficient  insult  to  every 
instinct  of  decency  or  reverence,  it  was  followed  by  a  selec- 
tion that  (unintentionally,  let  us  hope)  at  once  suggested 
the  principle  motive  in  Richard  Strauss'  "Til  Eulenspiegel," 
a  fantastic  orchestral  composition  which  humorously  depicts 
the  adventures  of  a  freakish  imp  who  is  finally  hung  for 
his  tricks.  It  was  at  least  some  relief  to  learn  that  the 
regular  organist  was  ill  and  that  these  atrocities  were  per- 
petrated by  an  assistant.  But  it  was  none  the  less  a  most 
painful  and  trying  experience. 


160  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

of    ability.    In    the    "Church    Economist"    he 
speaks  as  follows: 

"The  usual  method  of  closing  the  church 
services  by  a  noisy  outburst  of  organ  music 
seems  to  have  been  specially  planned  to  dissi- 
pate any  spiritual  impression  which  may  have 
been  produced.  It  is  hard  to  conceive  of  a 
better  scheme  for  promptly  and  effectively  ob- 
literating all  the  influences  of  the  worship 
hour.  The  prayers  have  soothed  and  strength- 
ened the  heart;  the  holy  song  has  banished  the 
discords  of  life  and  winged  the  soul  with  new 
courage;  the  open  Scriptures  and  the  earnest 
sermon  have  searched  and  thrilled  the  soul,  and 
brought  wider  vision,  and  larger  hope,  and 
braver  purpose.  The  whole  being,  quickened 
with  the  brooding  consciousness  of  coming  very 
near  to  God  in  the  sweet  shelter  of  His  House, 
bows  for  the  benediction,  and  longs  to  carry 
away  as  in  abiding  possession  the  light  and 
comfort  of  this  holy  hour.  Bang-whang-whang 
goes  the  drum;  tootle-te-tootle  the  fife. 

"The  amen  from  the  pulpit  is  the  signal  for 
a  blizzard  of  sound.  The  'Postlude'  must  be 
played  instantly  and  thunderously.  Every  stop 
is  drawn,  the  manuals  are  coupled,  the  full  or- 
gan blares  and  roars  fortissimo,  and  every  re- 
ligious idea  goes  to  the  winds  helter-skelter, 
like  leaves  in  a  cyclone.  Custom  has  decreed 
that  the  service  must  be  followed  with  musical 
din;  that  the  hallowed  silence  of  the  peace  un- 
speakable which  has  been  stealing  into  the  soul 
must  be  roared  and  clamored  away;  that  every 
resolution  and  aspiration  and  feeling  of  fellow- 
ship with  Christ  shall  be  stunned,  dazed,  over- 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         161 

whelmed,  swept  out  of  existence  by  an  untimely 
and  meaningless  Niagara  of  noise.  Worship- 
pers are  habitually  hustled  out  of  God's  House 
amid  the  roaring  of  a  'Fanfare,'  or  a  'Grand 
Choeur,'  or  'Sortie,'  or  'Fantasia,'  or  worse,  but 
always  something  fortissimo  and  allegro,  which 
means,  being  Englished,  'as  loudly  as  you  can 
and  as  quickly  as  you  can  drive  away  all  holy 
thought  and  purpose.' 

"This  postlude  habit  amply  justifies  the 
Scottish  antipathy  to  the  'kist  of  whistles.'  To 
compel  an  organist  to  follow  the  benediction 
by  an  instant  opening  up  of  his  organ  to  its 
utmost  power  of  reverberation  is  neither  ra- 
tional, nor  devotional,  nor  musical.  It  is  not 
rational  because  it  is  a  sheer  waste  of  good 
music  and  trained  skill.  No  one  pretends  to 
listen  to  a  postlude.  Should  one  desire  to  do 
so  he  can  only  catch  a  fragment  while  on  his 
march  to  the  door.  The  power  of  the  organ 
is  being  exhibited  and  the  ability  of  the  organ- 
ist is  being  taxed  under  circumstances  which 
absolutely  prevent  their  accomplishing  any  good 
result,  or  even  of  being  appreciated  at  their 
true  worth.  It  is  not  devotional.  One  of  the 
most  able  and  experienced  of  soul  winners  has 
termed  the  loud  postlude  'a  characteristic  speci- 
men of  Satanic  ingenuity.'  In  its  great  mo- 
ments the  soul  seeks  quiet  and  shrinks  from 
noise.  When  the  depths  of  the  heart  are  stirred 
the  outburst  of  such  a  racket  smites,  like  a 
blow  on  the  face.  It  is  not  musical.  The  ar- 
tistic sense  revolts  at  it  as  utterly  as  the  devo- 
tional sentiment.  A  master  musician  aptly  de- 
scribed it  as  'reducing  music  to  the  function  of 
a  door  mat.'     It  is  based  upon  the  assumption 


162  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

that  the  organ  has  no  higher  possibility  as  an 
adjunct  of  divine  worship  than  to  drown  the 
shuffling  feet  of  the  congregation  as  it  assem- 
bles or  disperses.  A  well-known  director  of 
church  music  recently  remarked  that  if  he 
played  at  all  after  church  the  people  were  sure 
to  talk;  if  he  played  loudly  they  talked  loudly, 
if  he  played  softly  they  talked  softly;  but  no 
one  ever  attached  any  meaning  to  the  music, 
or  seemed  to  suppose  it  accomplished  any 
higher  purpose  than  to  give  them  a  chance  of 
talking  without  being  heard, 

"The  organ  can  be  so  used  as  to  intensify 
the  spirit  of  worship.  It  can  be  employed  as 
a  potent  aid  in  deepening  devotion,  and  uplift- 
ing feeling,  and  carrying  home  into  the  depths 
of  the  soul  the  impressions  which  have  been 
awakened  by  the  service  hour.  After  hymns 
have  been  sung,  and  Scripture  read,  and  the 
sermon  preached,  and  a  word  of  prayer  offered, 
there  comes  a  natural  pause  in  the  moment  of 
the  service,  when  the  sound  of  the  voice, 
whether  in  speech  or  song,  may  well  be  hushed, 
and  be  succeeded  and  supplemented  by  the  heart- 
warming and  soul-searching  ministries  of  mu- 
sic. The  soul  has  been  uplifted  to  God  in  song, 
has  listened  to  God  in  His  Word,  has  meditated 
upon  God  at  the  call  of  His  servant,  has  spoken 
to  God  in  prayer;  and  it  instinctively  demands 
that  for  a  few  moments,  before  it  leaves  the 
holy  church's  calm,  it  should  be  still  and  know 
God. 

"Just  here  the  organ  can  preach.  Just  here 
the  introduction  of  carefully  selected  and  well 
interpreted  music  will  do  more  than  speech 
could;  will  carry  home  to  deeper  depths  every 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         163 


good  impression;  will  touch,  kindle,  expand, 
uplift  the  soul  and  atmosphere  the  entire 
service  with  an  influence  in  which  it  shall  long 
continue  to  move."  ^ 

The  matter  of  accompanying  the  Church 
service  can,  on  the  one  hand,  be  discharged  in  a 
mechanical  and  perfunctory  manner,  while  on 
the  other  it  may  call  upon  all  the  resources  of  a 
highly-skilled  and  sensitive  musician. 

Those  parts  of  the  service  which  are  ordi- 
narily considered  of  the  least  consequence  are 
precisely  the  places  which  require  the  greatest 
thought  and  preparation.  Take  for  example 
the  chanting  of  the  canticles  and  psalms.  How 
often  will  an  organist  use  the  same  registration 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  a  psalm ! 
Whether  it  expresses  praise,  aspiration,  hope, 
trust,  devotion,  penitence,  or  contrition  is  all 
the  same  to  his  careless  and  thoughtless  soul.. 
If  he  have  an  organ  of  only  moderate  size  he 
has  a  considerable  variety  of  combinations  at 
his  command.  Like  a  painter  with  his  palette 
of  colors  he  can  mix  his  various  qualities  of  tone 
and  by  their  subtle  use  can  intensify  the  vary- 
ing shades  of  religious  emotion.  Given  a  large 
modern   organ   with   its   wealth   of   stops    and 


3  Travelers  relate  that  in  the  Philippine  Islands  "Tam- 
many" and  "A  Hot  Time  in  the  Old  Town  To-night"  are 
favorite  voluntaries,  and  are  played  during  the  most  solemn 
parts  of  the  Mass  in  the  Roman  churches.  The  churches 
of  Italy,  especially  the  southern  portion,  have  scarcely 
higher  standards,  for  one  frequently  hears  operatic  over- 
tures and  dance  tunes  even  in  famous  Cathedrals, 


Accompani- 
ment of 
church 
service. 


Canticles 
and  psalms. 


Variety  and 
good  taste 
necessary. 


164  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

mechanical  accessories,  all  the  more  scope  will 
be  given  to  the  versatile  and  artistic  organist  to 
vary  the  usual  deadly  monotony  of  chanting. 

On  the  other  hand,  abrupt,  ill-considered  or 
kaleidoscopic  changes  of  registration  are  even 
greater  violations  of  good  taste  than  monotony, 
and  the  organist  who  attempts  to  musically  pic- 
ture the  dramatic  words  of  the  psalms  should 
not  be  tolerated.  To  illustrate  in  a  realistic 
manner  on  the  organ  such  passages  as  "One 
deep  calleth  upon  another  because  of  the  noise 
of  the  water  pipes,"  "Ye  mountains  that  ye 
skipped  like  rams,"  "They  go  to  and  fro  in  the 
evening,  grin  like  a  dog  and  run  about  the  city," 
or  the  description  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  are 
the  height  of  absurdity  and  turn  Divine  wor- 
ship into  ridicule. 

It  is  the  emotional  content  of  the  psalms 
that  the  accompanist  must  seize  and  that  in  a 
broad-minded  and  comprehensive  spirit.  A  too 
finicky  and  detailed  interpretation  will  defeat 
its  own  purpose,  for  the  force  of  contrast  will 
be  lost  by  over-elaboration. 
Accompani-  One  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  the  organist 

Gregorians.  has  to  cope  With  IS  the  accompaniment  oi  the 
Gregorian  chants.  To  retain  their  innate  char- 
acteristic they  should  always  be  sung  in  unison 
and  this  leaves  the  organist  free  to  display  his 
musicianship  and  taste  in  supplying  varied  har- 
monies. I^othing  is  more  reprehensible  than  the 


TEE  ORGAXIST  AND  CEOIRMASTER         165 

custom  of  dressing  up  these  ancient  plainsong 
melodies  with  modern  chromatic  harmonies. 
The  Gregorian  modes  represent  a  development 
of  music  totally  foreign  to  our  modem  scales 
and  chordal  material.  The  average  organist 
knows  next  to  nothing  of  the  ancient  ecclesias- 
tical modes,  and  is  not  at  all  familiar  with  the 
spirit  in  which  thej  were  conceived.  In  his 
ignorance  he  supplies  them  with  nineteenth 
centurv  harmonies,  which  is  as  much  of  an 
anachronism  as  to  robe  a  Madonna  with  the 
latest  Paris  gown.  G-regorians  cannot  be  prop- 
erly accompanied  without  a  close  familiarity 
with  the  rules  of  modal  counterpoint,  and  their 
real  force  and  character  are  lost  without  such 
accompaniment. 

Then  the  effectiveness  of  hymn  singing  is  ment^?^^' 
at  the  mercy  of  the  organist.  An  indifferent,  iiymns. 
careless  style  of  playing,  without  definite 
rhythm  or  clear-cut  phrasing,  will  not  invite 
hearty  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  choir  or 
congregation.  Many  organists  consider  the 
playing  over  of  a  tune  a  matter  of  no  moment 
and  in  consequence  it  is  done  in  either  a  slo- 
venly and  inaccurate  manner  or  with  mechan- 
ical and  unmeaning  precision.  A  hymn-tune 
should  always  be  announced  at  the  rate  of  speed 
in  which  it  is  intended  it  should  be  sung,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  general  emotional  character 
of  the  text.     To  particularize :  if  a  h}Tiin  be  in 


166  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

a  jubilant  vein,  it  should  be  given  out  with  a 
fair  amount  of  organ  and  with  sufficient  energy 
to  put  the  congregation  in  the  right  spirit  before 
it  is  taken  up  by  them.  On  the  contrary,  hymns 
of  a  quiet  and  reflective  nature  should  be  played 
over  on  a  more  subdued  organ  and  in  a  more 
deliberate  manner.  This,  however,  must  not 
be  construed  in  too  sentimental  a  manner  so 
that  the  tune  loses  its  rhythmic  outline  and 
swing.* 

The  prevailing  spirit  of  each  stanza  should 
be  suggested  by  the  organ,  avoiding  a  too  literal 
and  minute  exposition.  Sudden  transitions 
from  loud  to  soft  are  in  bad  taste  and  tend  to 
discourage  timid  singers.  A  hymn  should  be 
treated  as  a  coherent  and  logical  whole,  and  the 
ebb  and  flow  of  sentiment  should  be  confined  to 
reasonable  limits.  A  well-planned  climax  is 
always  effective  and  should  be  made  use  of 
whenever  the  text  permits, 
piaying^*^  Good  hymn  playing  is  rather  a  rare  accom- 

plishment and  calls  upon  a  sensitive  nature  that 
is  keen  to  realize  and  anticipate  the  needs  of 
the  moment.  As  a  rule,  congregations  musi- 
cally are  a  sluggish  and  inert  mass  moving 
along  the  line  of  least  resistance.  The  organist 
must  infuse  life  and  enthusiasm  into  this  mass, 
and  this  requires  a  certain  aggressiveness  on  the 

*  One  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  is  to  play  music  in 
moderate  or  slow  tempo  and  to  maintain  the  rhythmic  unity 
of  the  larger  pulses. 


rare. 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         167 

part  of  the  player.  He  must  take  the  reins  into 
his  own  hands  and  as  unobtrusively  as  possible 
guide  the  singers.  He  must  exercise  all  the  in- 
genuity at  his  command  to  arouse  choir  and 
congregation  into  a  spirit  of  active  cooperation, 
and  by  his  well-directed  domination  see  to  it 
that  the  h^Tun  singing  does  not  degenerate  into 
a  perfunctory  and  meaningless  office. 

A  few  practical  hints  may  be  useful  to  in-  £"t?on^ 
experienced  organists.  One  of  the  commonest  pj^ng. 
faults  is  to  keep  the  pedals  forever  booming, 
and  when  to  this  is  added  the  atrocious  habit  of 
playing  mostly  in  the  lowest  octave  it  becomes 
well-nigh  intolerable.  Give  the  pedals  a  rest 
once  in  a  while  on  the  quieter  verses  and  ob- 
serve what  a  fine  effect  they  have  when  added 
dignity  and  weight  are  desired.  Save  the 
lowest  tones  for  special  climaxes  or  the  final 
summing  up.  Use  the  Great  organ  in  its  vary- 
ing degrees  of  powder  alone  occasionally,  for 
many  keep  it  coupled  to  the  swell  practically  all 
the  time.  If  the  alto  or  tenor  is  particularly 
melodious  for  a  phrase  or  two,  bring  it  out  on  a 
separate  manual.  The  melody  may  be  played 
as  a  solo  either  as  written  or  an  octave  higher 
or  an  octave  lower.  In  the  latter  case  it  is  es- 
pecially effective  as  a  trumpet  solo  (plus  dia- 
pasons) against  the  full  swell.  Contrast  dia- 
pasons against  reeds,  strings  against  flutes,  etc. 

In  the  accompaniment  of  the  anthem  and 


168 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Accompani- 
ment of 
anthems. 


The  art  of 
accompani- 
ment of 
prime 
importance. 


the  service  numbers  the  organist  can  show  his 
art  to  the  highest  advantage.  As  a  soloist  he 
rarely  has  opportunity  to  shine.  The  open- 
ing and  closing  voluntaries  are  but  casually 
listened  to,  and  set  organ  numbers  during  the 
service  are  becoming  more  and  more  the  ex- 
ception. In  accompanying  a  good  choir  the  or- 
ganist is  not  hampered  by  the  restrictions  placed 
upon  him  in  hymn-playing,  where  he  is  obliged 
to  support  the  voices.  He  can  freely  use  the 
entire  resources  of  his  instrument  in  lending 
color  and  variety  to  his  work.  The  art  demands 
as  keen  a  sense  of  literary  as  of  musical  values, 
for  the  object  is  not  alone  to  enhance  the  effect 
of  the  music  by  every  legitimate  means,  but  to 
enforce  the  meaning  of  the  words  as  well. 

The  art  of  good  accompaniment  and  the  abil- 
ity to  improvise  are  of  far  more  practical  value 
to  the  Church  organist  than  great  gifts  as  a  con- 
cert player.  The  true  spirit  of  devotional  music 
is  more  in  evidence  while  accompanying  the 
monotoned  parts  of  the  service  than  in  the  most 
elaborate  anthems  or  canticles.  The  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  Creed,  the  priest's  part  in  the  Li- 
tany are  the  delight  of  the  real  Church  organist. 
It  is  his  part  not  to  make  the  organ  conspicu- 
ous, or  to  call  attention  to  his  own  cleverness, 
but  to  so  reinforce  the  voice  of  supplication,  of 
faith,  or  of  praise  that  his  own  earnestness  may 
be  apparent  to  all  susceptible  hearts. 


THE  ORGAXIST  AXD  CHOIRMASTER         169 
The  organist  is  frequently  called  upon  to   The  art  of 

*=^  .  .  II'         improvisa- 

fill  in  gaps  in  the  service  which  would  otherwise  tion. 
pass  in  awkward  silence.  Here  again  the  ar- 
tistic touch  and  the  reverent  nature  should  be 
in  evidence.  The  playing  of  pretty  but  incon- 
gruous melodies,  or  the  exploitation  of  the  Vox 
Humana  with  sentimental  but  meaningless 
phrases,  should  be  avoided.  One  of  two  prin- 
ciples should  be  adopted  for  the  improvisation 
to  be  in  thorough  good  taste.  The  music  should 
either  embody  a  reference  to  what  has  gone  be- 
fore, or  suggest  what  is  to  come.  In  other 
words,  the  organist  should  have  the  ability  to 
develop  or  enlarge  upon  the  musical  themes 
which  immediately  precede  or  succeed  the  situa- 
tion in  question.  Here  is  opportunity  for  the 
highest  phase  of  the  art  of  organ-playing,  the 
art  that  welds  the  whole  service  into  a  coherent, 
connected,  and  artistic  whole. 

In  the  choral  celebration  of  the  Holy  Eu-  ce^JufaWoL 
charist  the  greatest  demands  are  made  upon 
the  resources  and  abilities  of  the  organist. 
To  so  manage  his  part  that  the  true  spirit 
of  reverence  and  devotion  is  never  lost,  to  see 
to  it  that  no  balks  or  faults  or  hesitations 
mar  the  sacredness  of  this  highest  act  of  wor- 
ship, to  be  alert  and  ready  to  off-set  or  mitigate 
the  acts  of  carelessness  or  inefficiency  on  the 
part  of  others,  is  no  small  task  or  responsibility. 
Above  all,  the  spirit  of  solemnity  and  devout 


music. 


170  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

worship  must  be  maintained  until  the  very  end 
of  the  service,  and  no  blatant  or  irrelevant  post- 
lude  permitted  to  jar  upon  the  ^'peace  that  pass- 
eth  all  understanding.'' 

^^^*?r  *^^  Joachim,  that  greatest  of  violinists  and  mu- 

sicians, contended  that  rhythm  was  the  very 
soul  of  music.  I^ow  the  organ,  from  the  very 
nature  of  its  mechanical  construction,  is  the  most 
difficult  of  all  instruments  to  extract  rhythm 
from,  and  the  organist's  constant  aim  should  be 
to  overcome  this  fundamental  lack  as  far  as  it 
is  possible  to  do  so.  It  is  quite  possible  to  play 
with  well-defined  rhythm  on  the  organ,  but  this 
is  only  accomplished  by  what  might  be  termed 
an  excess  of  accuracy  and  precision.  This  be- 
ing the  case,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  so-called 
organist  who  is  so  unconscious  of  the  impor- 
tance of  rhythmical  integrity  that  he  is  con- 
stantly coming  to  a  standstill  with  his  music  in 
order  to  manipulate  the  stops!  One  invariable 
dictum  may  be  laid  down:  if  the  management 
of  the  stops  cannot  be  effected  without  breaking 
the  rhythm,  let  the  registration  go.  Smoothness 
and  continuity  are  the  indispensable  features 
of  good  organ  playing,  and  it  is  the  player's 
business  to  maintain  these  essentials  at  all  costs. 
To  hang  on  to  a  chord  indefinitely  with  one  hand 
while  the  other  is  groping  for  stops  is  the  acme 
of  bad  organ-playing.  A  clever  organist  with 
quick  wits  and  trained  muscles  will  do  most  as- 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         171 

tonishing  feats  in  stop  manipulation  without  in- 
terfering in  the  slightest  with  the  rhythmic  flow 
of  the  music. 

As  a  rule,  changes  in  registration  should  co-  Registration, 
incide  with  changes  of  sentiment,  and  should 
begin  and  end  with  a  definite  phrase  or  section 
of  the  music.  In  the  orchestra  we  do  not  begin 
a  musical  sentence  with  a  flute  and  finish  it 
with  a  violin,  nor  do  we  find  one  instrument 
augmenting  another  in  a  haphazard  way.  Logic 
is  as  essential  in  esthetics  as  in  ethics. 

A  word  of  caution  must  be  given  in  regard 
to  the  use  of  the  swell  pedal.  This  single  means  pedai!^*^^ 
of  varying  the  tone  quantity  of  certain  stops  or 
combinations  of  stops  must  be  used  sparingly, 
or  its  effectiveness  will  be  badly  discounted.  If 
one  is  continually  "see-sawing"  on  the  swell 
pedal,  producing  erratic  gusts  of  sound,  its  le- 
gitimate use  as  a  means  of  climax  and  artistic 
gradation  of  tone  is  completely  frustrated.  The 
typical  self-instructed  organist  delights  in 
pumping  the  swell  pedal  with  his  right  foot, 
under  the  delusion  that  he  is  playing  "with  ex- 
pression,'' while  the  left  foot  is  vainly  attempt- 
ing to  accomplish  the  impossible  task  of  playing 
the  pedal  part  smoothly  with  one  foot.  As  in 
the .  case  of  excessive  registration,  the  greater 
effect  is  destroyed  by  the  smaller,  and  a  total 
lack  of  artistic  balance  results. 

The  custom  of  frequently  making  use  of  the 


172 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


The  full 
organ. 


Exaggerated 
mannerisms. 


Relation  of 
priest  and 
organist. 


full  power  of  the  instrument  is  also  pernicious 
and  robs  the  player  of  one  of  his  most  potent 
means  of  effect.  It  should  be  saved  for  rare  in- 
stances where  special  climax  is  desired,  and 
then  its  full  value  will  be  appreciated.  Mere 
noise  for  its  own  sake  should  never  be  indulged 
in — a  brass  band  would  serve  that  object  far 
better. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  bad  taste  and  inex- 
perience on  the  part  of  the  organist  are  fre- 
quently accompanied  by  exaggerated  man- 
nerisms while  playing.  The  trained  artist  will 
perform  his  difficult  task  with  the  least  possible 
expenditure  of  effort,  and  his  movements  will 
be  made  deftly  and  quietly,  whereas  the  tyro 
will  give  the  impression  that  organ  playing  is 
an  acrobatic  task  requiring  great  strength  and 
agility.  These  herculean  efforts  greatly  impress 
the  uninitiated  at  times,  but  they  are  entirely 
unnecessary  and  not  only  distress  and  disturb 
the  more  sensitive-minded,  but  hamper  the 
player  and  interfere  with  his  own  measure  of 
success. 

The  relation  of  the  organist  to  the  priest  in 
charge  is  always  a  delicate  one.  Both  belong 
to  professions  which  tend  to  sensitiveness  and 
nervous  tension.  The  organist  naturally  knows 
more  of  music  than  the  minister,  still,  according 
to  the  canons  of  the  Church,  the  latter  has  con- 
trol of  both  organ  and  organist,  and  if  he  so 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         173 

choose,  can  dictate  what  music  is  to  be  used  and 
how  it  is  to  be  performed.  Sometimes  he  knows 
nothing  of  music  and  does  not  hesitate  to  admit 
it.  Again  he  may  possess  a  highly  gifted  mu- 
sical nature  and  have  sufficient  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  subject  to  be  perfectly  justified  in 
whatever  criticism  or  suggestions  he  may  offer. 
Clergy  of  this  latter  type,  however,  are  about  as 
rare  as  the  organist  who  is  thoroughly  posted 
in  the  ecclesiastical  aspects  of  his  profession  and 
in  thorough  sympathy  with  them.  The  organist 
is  altogether  more  prone  to  be  interested  in  con- 
cert-playing or  in  music  generally,  than  in  his 
particular  task  of  adapting  himself  to  the  ends 
and  conditions  which  surround  him.  With  all 
these  differing  factors  presenting  themselves  in 
varying  degrees  there  is  endless  opportunity  for 
friction  and  misunderstanding.  Frankness  and 
forbearance  will  be  necessary  on  both  sides. 
The  organist  will  do  well  to  remember  that 
when  all  is  said  and  done,  he  has  been  engaged 
to  perform  a  specific  work  more  or  less  to  the 
liking  of  those  who  pay  his  salary.  But  the 
clergyman  is  not  to  forget  that  a  man  who  is 
willing  to  make  sacrifices  for  his  ideals  and  con- 
victions is  a  valuable  member  of  the  community, 
and  that  these  ideals  and  convictions  are  not 
the  personal  conclusions  of  the  man  concerned, 
but  those  of  the  best  minds  in  the  musical 
world,  and  as  such  deserve  respect  and  consid- 


174  MU8W  IN  THE  CHURCH 

eration.  The  matter  has  been  aptly  summed  up 
in  an  address  by  a  prominent  clergyman  of 
l^ew  York  on  the  occasion  of  his  election  to  the 
post  of  chaplain  of  the  American  Guild  of  Or- 
ganists : 

"Never  give  up  one  jot  or  one  tittle  of  your 
ideals.  But  you  have  got  to  understand  that  if 
you  can't  get  a  whole  loaf  you  had  better  take 
a  half;  that  if  you  cannot  do  all  that  you  want 
to  do  you  had  better  do  as  much  as  you  can. 
I  may  have  very  high  ideals,  but  I  have  to  take 
my  fellow  men  as  I  find  them.  I  may  have 
the  highest  ideals  of  music  and  I  insist  upon 
holding  them,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  a  plain, 
simple  little  sermonette  hasn't  its  value  in  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  people,  and  it  is  also  per- 
fectly evident  that  some  simple,  pathetic,  beauti- 
ful little  song,  which  may  not  be  very  good  mu- 
sically, has  also  its  place  and  light  in  the  life 
of  the  people.  Hang  on  to  your  ideals.  I 
would  not  give  a  snap  of  my  finger  for  a  man 
who  had  no  great  views  of  his  life's  work  and 
thoughts  of  the  music  he  wants  to  give,  but  he 
must  remember  that  he  is  dealing  with  people, 
many  of  whom  are  utterly  ignorant  of  music, 
many  of  whom  dislike  it,  and  only  a  few  really 
appreciate  it.  And  he  has  got  to  guide  his  life 
not  only  with  reference  to  his  ideals,  but  with 
reference  also  to  the  capacity  of  the  people  with 
whom  he  is  dealing." 

The  choir-  Thus  far  the  ofi&ce  of  organist  has  alone 

been  considered.  It  is  usually  combined  with 
that  of  choirmaster,  and  the  dual  position  calls 
for  a  combination  of  qualities  that  is  rare  in- 


master. 


THE  ORGANIST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         175 

deed.  An  efficient  choirmaster  must  also  be  a 
good  musician  and  in  addition  be  an  expert 
voice-trainer,  a  skilled  instructor,  and  above  all, 
possess  the  qualities  which  attract  and  interest. 
Exemplary  character  and  good  Churchmanship 
are  even  more  essential  in  the  choirmaster  than 
in  the  organist,  for  he  should  not  only  train 
those  under  him  in  Churchlj  singing,  but  he 
should  also  be  responsible  for  their  moral  and 
religious  development.  Without  reverence  for 
the  Church  and  love  of  the  work  for  its  own 
sake,  satisfactory  results  will  never  be  attained. 
In  this  regard  we  may  well  learn  from  the 
Lutherans,  who  make  it  a  rule  to  permit  neither 
organist,  choirmaster,  or  singer  to  take  part  in 
their  services  who  is  not  a  member  of  their 
communion. 

It  is  in  the  matter  of  voice-training  where  Knowledge 
nine-tenths  of  our  choirmasters  are  deficient,  culture 
and  where  one  person  is  both  choirmaster  and 
organist  the  situation  is  not  at  all  improved,  for 
the  latter  is  usually  three-fourths  organist  and 
one-fourth  choirmaster.  In  other  words,  the  in- 
dividual concerned  is  nearly  always  attracted  to 
the  work  through  the  fascinations  of  the  organ. 
That  instrument  he  studies  with  a  certain  desrree  Organists 

poor  voice 

of  thoroughness,  and  when  he  finds  it  necessary  trainers, 
to  include  choir-training  in  his  activities,  instead 
of  properly  preparing  himself  for  that  he  trusts 
to  his  native  wit  and  general  musicianship.  The 


176  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

matter  of  discipline  cuts  such  a  figure  in  the 
situation,  that  given  a  fair  organist  and  the 
ability  to  organize  and  control  a  choir,  the 
question  of  proficiency  as  a  voice  trainer  is  not 
much  in  the  foreground.  To  take  a  boy  off  the 
street  and  to  change  his  natural  inclination  to 
yell  in  his  chest  tones  to  habits  of  really  good 
and  correct  tone  production  is  a  task  so  difficult 
that  it  borders  almost  on  the  miraculous.  In 
addition  to  the  necessary  technical  knowledge 
it  requires  infinite  patience,  tact,  and  unfailing 
good  humour.  It  is  the  lack  of  this  knowledge 
of  how  to  produce  good  and  agreeable  tones  that 
lies  at  the  root  of  the  general  unsatisfactoriness 
of  our  so-called  ^^boy  choirs."  As  a  rule,  our 
boys  do  not  sing — they  shout  or  yell.  One  un- 
consciously gets  into  the  mental  habit  of  ex- 
cluding the  efforts  of  a  boy  choir  from  the  cate- 
gory of  real  music.  They  are  judged  from 
standards  other  than  those  applied  ordinarily 
Boy  choirs      to    chorus    singing.     We    have    a    subconscious 

generally  un-   j.     ,.,,.,.,.        .  .  , 

satisfactory.  leelmg  that  doctrinal,  utilitarian,  or  sentimental 
reasons  exist  which  justify  the  use  of  the  boy 
choir,  no  matter  how  much  they  may  offend  our 
ears  or  violate  our  artistic  senses.  And  still 
some  of  the  most  esthetically  exacting  among  us 
have  heard  choirs  of  men  and  boys  which  have 
more  than  satisfied  our  highest  ideals,  and  have 
driven  hard  home  the  conviction  that  the  vested 


THE  ORGAXIST  AXD  CHOIRMASTER         177 

male  choir  fills  every  requirement  of  an  ideal 
service,  both  artistically  and  liturgically. 

If  this  astounding  gulf  between  our  worst  Boy  choir 
and  our  best  choirs  is  largely  a  matter  of  ability 
to  train  the  human  voice,  why  is  so  little  em- 
phasis placed  upon  skill  in  vocal  culture  ?  The 
question  can  be  answered  in  part  by  the  fact 
that  boy  choirs  are  to  a  certain  extent  a  fad. 
Every  church,  down  to  the  smallest  and  poorest, 
must  enjoy  the  picturesque  spectacle  of  a  sur- 
pliced  choir,  whether  or  not  the  conditions  war- 
rant it.  Without  a  considerable  appropriation 
for  its  maintenance,  and  without  an  environ- 
ment that  will  supply  good  material  it  is  hope- 
less to  expect  results  that  will  justifiy  the  ef- 
fort, judged  from  any  sane  or  unbiased  point 
of  view. 

But  unfortunately  there  is  generally  some  Jof°^e|Jg°^ 
one  who  will  undertake  the  running  of  a  boy 
choir,  even  under  the  most  adverse  and  unprom- 
ising conditions.  If  the  organist  declines,  it  is 
apt  to  be  delegated  to  some  enterprising  person 
whose  entire  preparation  for  the  exacting  task 
consists  in  the  fact  that  he  at  one  time,  as  boy 
or  man,  sang  in  a  vested  choir.  And  the  choir 
he  sang  in  was  probably  an  inferior  one.  In 
this  manner  inefficiency  is  added  to  inefficiency 
and  deplorable  traditions  are  established  and 
perpetuated.  As  already  hinted  at,  the  ability 
to  maintain  a  semblance  of  order  among  unruly 


178 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


The  discip- 
linarian. 


Professional 
voice  teach- 
ers not 
available. 


boys  is  of  such  practical  value  that  many  mu- 
sical short-comings  are  almost  gladly  overlooked 
if  discipline  is  maintained.  But  not  infre- 
quently we  meet  the  combination  of  bad  con- 
duct and  wretched  singing,  and  surely  in  such 
cases  the  limit  of  Christian  forbearance  is 
reached. 

The  primary  need  of  good  discipline  has 
evolved  the  choirmaster  who  has  good  executive 
ability  and  the  knack  of  attracting,  holding,  and 
controlling  choristers.  With  such  a  man  in 
command  everything  moves  with  military  pre- 
cision, including  the  music.  The  choir  enter- 
tainments and  encampments  are  always  a  great 
success.  The  singers  are  well-drilled,  but  in  a 
mechanical  way.  From  some  points  of  view 
such  a  man  is  a  prize  indeed  and  a  great  boon  to 
the  parish  priest,  for  he  relieves  the  latter  of 
much  responsibility  and  care.  Choirmasters  of 
this  type,  however,  are  usually  lacking  in  the  ar- 
tistic sense.  They  have  little  judgment  in  the 
selection  of  suitable  music  and  little  feeling  for 
its  proper  performance.  Such  refinements  as 
good  tone  production,  accurate  intonation,  and 
sympathetic  interpretation  do  not  enter  within 
their  horizon. 

One  would  think  that  a  professional  voice 
teacher  would  be  the  logical  choice  for  a  choir- 
master, but  such  is  not  the  case.  There  are 
several  reasons  for  this.     In  the  first  place,  it 


THE  ORGAN I8T  AND  CHOIRMASTER         179 

is  difficult  to  make  a  boy  comprehend  the  nice 
and  complicated  processes  of  voice  production. 
The  work  is  necessarily  elementary  and  conse- 
quently uninteresting  to  most  teachers.  The  re- 
sponsibility entailed  in  taking  charge  of  a  lot 
of  boisterous  youngsters  is  not  usually  attrac- 
tive. The  training  and  developing  of  the  boy 
voice  is  a  special  art  in  itself  which  the  great 
majority  of  voice  teachers  know  nothing  about. 
Lastly,  a  really  proficient  vocal  instructor  can 
command  such  a  sum  for  his  services  in  in- 
structing adults  that  even  a  good  church  salary 
fails  to  tempt  him. 

When  the  offices  of  choirmaster  and  organ-  subSt^o 
ist  are  separated  the  choirmaster  has  charge.  ^^°i^°^^^*®^ 
The  organist  is  almost  certain  to  be  the  bet- 
ter musician  of  the  two  and  is  placed  in  the 
trying  situation  of  taking  orders  from  a  man 
less  experienced  musically  than  himself.  It  is 
only  occasionally  that  the  combination  works 
out  advantageously.  The  more  capable  the  or- 
ganist, the  more  anxious  he  will  be  to  secure  a 
position  where  he  is  his  own  master.  The 
choirmaster  is  thus  frequently  forced  to  put  up 
either  with  incompetent  players,  or  frequent 
changes  on  the  organ  bench. 

The  situation  then,   as   regards  our  choir-  f/aiSngfor 
masters  has  its  complexities.     Like  our  organ-  neSa^i^" 
ists,   they  sadly  need   the   aid   of  the   Church 
itself.     Our  peculiar  needs   in   Church  music 


180 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Action  of 

Church 

Clubs. 


Musical 
education  of 
clergy. 


are  not  to  be  found  in  any  other  Christian  body, 
and  the  necessary  experience  cannot  be  gained 
outside  our  own  walls.  Surely  the  matter  is  of 
sufficient  importance  to  demand  the  serious  at- 
tention of  the  Church  at  large.  One  would 
naturally  look  to  the  clergy  to  take  the  initia- 
tive in  such  a  cause.  But  it  has  been  left  to 
the  laymen.  At  the  last  Conference  of  the 
Church  Clubs  of  the  United  States  held  at  St. 
Louis  a  paper  was  read  severely  criticising 
much  of  the  music  heard  in  our  churches  and 
suggesting  that  the  matter  be  acted  upon  by  the 
Conference.  The  result  was  the  passing  of  a 
resolution  to  the  effect  that  each  Church  Club 
of  the  country  be  asked  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  consider  the  general  subject  of  the  music  in 
our  churches,  and  that  each  committee  submit 
recommendations  to  a  central  committee.  It  is 
sincerely  to  be  hoped  that  something  practical 
and  improving  may  be  evolved  from  this  scheme. 
Any  thorough  sifting  of  the  subject  will 
make  apparent  the  fundamental  need  of  proper 
training  schools  for  our  organists  and  choir- 
masters, and  the  necessity  of  setting  and  main- 
taining proper  standards  of  selection  and  per- 
formance. But  any  plan  will  fail  of  its  pur- 
pose if  it  does  not  include  the  musical  education 
of  the  clergy,  so  that  they  may  intelligently 
guide  and  direct  the  musical  forces  over  which 
they  have  control,   and  also  have  sympathetic 


THE  ORGAyiST  AND  CHOIRMASTER         181 

appreciation  for  the  artistic  efforts  of  their  co- 
laborers.  It  is  both  trying  and  discouraging  for 
a  musician  trained  in  the  best  traditions  of  the 
Church  and  possessing  high  and  praiseworthy 
ideals  to  be  thrown  into  an  environment  where 
all  his  knowledge  and  experience  go  for  little  or 
naught.  If  he  demurs  at  using  music  which 
he  knows  to  be  unseemly  or  unworthy,  it  is  all 
the  more  to  his  credit.  An  exhaustive  course 
in  the  appreciation  of  Church  music  should  find 
place  in  the  curriculum  of  every  one  of  our 
theological  schools,  and  the  course  should  be 
obligatory.  Even  if  the  embryo  priest  should 
have  no  taste  or  love  for  music,  he  should  at 
least  be  trained  to  understand  that  the  choice 
of  music  for  divine  worship  is  too  serious  a 
matter  to  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  an  uncul- 
tivated taste. 

The  question  thus  resolves  itself  into  a  cam- 
paign of  education.  The  Church  as  a  whole 
must  be  educated  to  that  point  where  she  real-  ofeduca- 
izes  that  she,  in  turn,  must  educate  her  priests, 
her  organists,  her  choristers,  and  through  them 
her  people.  In  this  way  only  can  music  receive 
its  full  meed  of  appreciation  and  rise  to  its  full 
value  as  an  aid  to  religion.  Salaries. 

A  closing  word  of  a  practical  nature.  A 
recent  report  of  the  corporation  of  Trinity  par- 
ish, Xew  York  City,  discloses  the  fact  that  over 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  expended  in 


A  campaign 


182  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

salaries  for  its  clergy,  and  about  sixty  thousand 
dollars  for  its  musicians  during  the  preceding 
fiscal  year.  This,  of  course,  included  Trinity 
Church  and  the  various  chapels  and  missions. 
The  statement  makes  plain  the  importance 
which  the  oldest,  the  largest,  and  the  most  ex- 
perienced parish  in  the  American  Church  at- 
taches to  its  musical  services,  and  it  establishes 
a  valuable  basis  for  comparison.  The  appro- 
priation of  approximately  one-half  of  the  cleri- 
cal salary  list  for  music  will  be  found  to  hold 
good  in  all  churches  where  the  music  is  at  all 
satisfactory.  This  is  of  course  based  on  the 
assumption  that  the  clergy  are  adequately  paid. 
The  moment  this  proportion  is  materially  re- 
duced a  church  cannot  in  reason  expect  to  secure 
the  aid  of  competent  musical  talent.  The  best 
results  are  obtainable  only  where  the  musician 
in  charge  is  sufficiently  well  paid  to  enable  him 
to  live  comfortably  without  seeking  other 
sources  of  revenue.  If  he  is  obliged  to  occupy 
himself  otherwise  during  the  week  to  any  con- 
siderable extent,  it  will  divide  his  interests  and 
consume  the  energy  and  ambition  that  should 
be  devoted  to  his  church  duties.  If  the  re- 
sources of  a  church  are  insufficient  to  pay  a  liv- 
ing salary  it  is  questionable  indeed  if  that  par- 
ish had  better  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  boy 
choir.  There  are  other  resources  in  every  par- 
ish which  will  give  far  better  results  musically, 


TEIl  ORGANIST  AXD  CHOIRMASTER         183 

and  at  much  less  expense  both  in  time,  trouble, 
and  money.  But  this  aspect  of  the  case  will  be 
considered  in  another  lecture. 


V. 

The  Vested  Male  Choir. 

An  English  essayist  remarks  that  if  the  old 
Athenian  commander  Timotheus  should  arise 
from  the  dead  ^^he  would  be  delighted  with  our 
post  offices,  interested  in  our  railroads,  ashamed 
of  our  oratory,  horrified  at  our  public  buildings, 
but  dumbfounded  at  our  musical  festivals." 
cSicuy  of  -^^^  astonishment  at  the  English  musical  f  es- 

boys'  voices,  tivals  would  probably  suffer  no  abatement  upon 
the  discovery  that  in  many  instances  the  voices 
of  young  lads  were  responsible  for  the  beauty  of 
the  general  effect.  If  he  were  interested  in  this 
aspect  of  the  case  he  would  further  find  out  that 
the  greatest  Cathedrals  in  Europe  entrusted  the 
soprano  part  in  their  choirs  not  to  the  mature 
and  emotional  charm  of  women's  voices,  but  to 
the  pure  tones  and  musical  ability  of  lads  rang- 
ing in  age  from  ten  to  fifteen  years. 
Most  noted  j^  -g  ^  f^^^  ^YiSit  the  most  famous  choirs  in 

employ  boys,  existence,  choirs  that  scorn  the  assistance  of  or- 
gan or  orchestra,  choirs  noted  for  their  beauty 
of  tone  and  for  the  perfect  manner  in  which 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  185 

thej  perform  the  most  difficult  scores  of  the 
great  masters,  invariably  make  use  of  the  boy 
voice  for  the  soprano  and  sometimes  the  alto 
part. 

Whether  we  go  to  the  Imperial  Chapel  at 
St.  Petersburg,  the  Kremlin  at  Moscow,  the 
Dom  at  Berlin,  the  Cathedral  at  Cologne,  the 
Madeleine  at  Paris,  St.  Paul's  or  Westminster 
at  London,  King's  College  at  Cambridge,  or 
Magdalen  at  Oxford,  we  will  hear  lads  sustain- 
ing their  difficult  parts  with  unerring  accuracy, 
delighting  the  ear  with  the  purity  of  their  voices 
and  satisfying  the  most  exacting  taste  in  their 
artistic  interpretations. 

The  Church  of  St.  Thomas  at  Leipzig,  f^oS!"""^"' 
proud  in  the  fact  that  the  mighty  Johann  Se-  Leipzig, 
bastian  Bach  had  charge  of  its  music  something 
less  than  two  centuries  ago,  supports  a  choir  of 
men  and  boys  that  sings  the  works  of  the  great 
Cantor  every  Sunday  in  the  year.  And  they 
are  works  of  such  complexity  that  well-equipped 
and  experienced  choral  societies  plume  them- 
selves upon  the  occasional  performance  of  a 
Bach  motette  or  cantata,  not  to  mention  the  rare 
performances  of  his  Passion  according  to  St. 
Matthew  or  St.  John,  or  his  gigantic  Mass  in 
B  minor. 

All  this  testimony  goes  to  prove  the  wonder-  ^"** 
ful  capacity  and  efficiency  of  boys,  provided  ^oys. 
they    are    properly    and    sufficiently    trained. 


186 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Sight-read- 
ing ability. 


English 

choir 

schools. 


Therein  lies  the  whole  secret — properly  and 
sufficiently  trained.  The  boys  who  sing  in  these 
world-famous  choirs  ordinarily  receive  their  en- 
tire education  at  the  hands  of  the  Church  they 
serve.  They  are,  of  course,  selected  for  their 
natural  musical  gifts,  but  boys  of  like  capacity 
exist  in  all  large  cities  and  in  considerable  num- 
bers. It  is  the  daily  musical  training  and  the 
skilled  attention  they  receive  which  is  respon- 
sible for  the  wonderful  results,  and  not  the  phe- 
nomenal qualities  of  the  boys  themselves. 

The  sight-reading  abilities  of  these  boys  put 
to  shame  many  an  adult  professional.  They 
read  music  as  they  read  words.  Hymn  music 
is  as  child's  play  to  them,  and  anthems  and  mot- 
ettes  of  no  mean  difficulty  are  sung  through  the 
first  time  without  hesitation  or  fault.  But  it  is 
the  result  of  severe  daily  drill  and  of  a  life 
having  music  as  its  consuming  activity. 

The  Cathedrals  of  England  are  supplied 
with  Choir  Schools  where  the  young  lads  not 
only  receive  sound  musical  training  but  also  a 
general  education,  superior  to  that  given  in  the 
public  schools.  They  are  nearly  all  boarding 
schools  and  in  return  for  a  liberal  education  the 
pupils  sing  at  the  daily  Cathedral  services. 
Without  such  a  perfect  system  of  training 
schools  the  results  obtained  would  be  impossible. 
When  we  recall  that  England  has  some  thirty 
Cathedrals  distributed  over  her  restricted  area 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  187 

and  that  music  has  been  systematically  culti- 
vated in  them  ever  since  the  Reformation — a  pe- 
riod of  over  350  years — it  is  small  wonder  that 
she  has  such  high  standards  of  Church  music 
and  that  her  Church  people  generally  appreciate 
these  standards.  Good  boy  voices  were  in  such 
demand  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century 
that  a  musical  "press-gang"  scoured  the  country 
for  boys  with  good  "brestes"  or  voices,  and  they 
were  empowered  to  seize  such  boys  for  service 
in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  or  the  Royal  Chapels. 

These  Cathedral  services  serve  as  models  cathedral 
which  are  emulated  by  the  parish  churches,  the  models, 
more  important  of  which  maintain  services 
quite  up  to  Cathedral  standards.  Even  if  the 
parish  churches  are  not  provided  with  choir 
schools  of  their  own  they  will  experience  no 
difficulty  in  securing  choir  boys  already  trained, 
for  there  are  schools  established  for  this  special 
purpose. 

Contrast  this  enviable  state  of  affairs  with  Disadvan- 
conditions  as  they  exist  in  this  country.  We  conditions 
have  no  historic  background  musically  speaking, 
no  well-defined  standards  of  performance,  and 
few  acknowledged  models.  Thoroughly  cap- 
able organists  and  choirmasters  are  rare.  The 
time  given  to  the  work  is  inadequate.  Choir 
boys  already  trained  are  almost  an  unknown 
quantity,  and  choir  schools  are  in  their  infancy. 
The  average  choral  service  is  performed  in  a 


in  America. 


188 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Average 
choir  poor. 


Best  choirs 
not  up  to 
European 
Standards. 


Necessity  of 

choir 

schools. 


coarse,  unmusical,  and  inartistic  manner.  No 
one  takes  any  pleasure  in  it.  It  is  considered 
the  normal  state  of  affairs,  and  if  a  vested  choir 
is  wanted,  crudities  must  be  put  up  with  as  a 
matter  of  course. 

With  these  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
large  majority  of  cases,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
Church  people  of  refined  musical  sensibilities 
are  frequently  repelled  by  our  services,  and  it 
is  difficult  for  them  to  believe  that  there  can 
possibly  be  any  real  merit  in  the  so-called  "boy 
choir.'' 

It  is  true  that  in  'New  York  City  one  hears 
services  of  decided  merit  and  in  our  larger 
cities  there  are  choirs  whose  attainments  are 
most  commendable.  Still  the  best  of  these  do 
not  compare  with  the  famous  choirs  of  Europe, 
and  the  question  arises.  Why  cannot  we,  with 
our  energy,  ambition  and  natural  resources, 
have  choirs  equal  to  the  greatest  ? 

The  only  possible  way  is  by  the  establish- 
ment of  choir  schools,  and  this  conclusion  is 
gradually  forcing  itself  upon  the  consciousness 
of  our  leading  churches.  Before  giving  the 
actual  results  of  this  conclusion,  a  short  sketch 
of  the  introduction  of  the  vested  male  choir  into 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  America, 
and  its  development  in  our  own  diocese,  may  be 
of  interest. 

The  first  vested  male  choir  that  historians 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  189 

have  been  able  to  trace  seems  to  have  been  in  historical 

Sketch.  St. 

St.  Michaers  Church,  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  the  Michael's, 

^  T     •  •  1         '111  o        1  Charleston, 

year  1798.    It  is  quite  plausible  that  a  Southern   s.  c. 
church  should  have  been  the  first  to  transplant 
the   English   custom   to   these   shores,    for   the 
Church  was  far  stronger  and  lived  more  nearly 
up  to  the  standards  of  the  Mother  Church  in  the 
Virginias  and  Carolinas  than  was  the  case  in 
^ew  England,  where  under  Puritan  domina- 
tion the  Church  was  poor  and  weak,  or  in  New 
York,  where  the  Dutch  and  French  Eeformed 
churches  were  in  the  ascendancy.     Of  the  his- 
tory or  longevity  of  this  first  surpliced  choir  we 
know  nothing.    The  second  choir  is  not  heard  of 
until  1841  and  then  at  Flushing,  L.  I.     The  Flushing, 
Church  of  the  Advent,  Boston,  is  reported  to  church 
have  had  a  vested  choir  in  1859.     As  early  as  Advent, 
1761  boys  were  made  use  of  in  ^^Old  Trinity,"   «.oid 
]^ew  York,  but  they  were  not  vested  nor  did  they  n?w  Y^rk 
sit  in  the  chancel,  but  in  the  gallery.     In  1709,  ^^^y- 
a  parish  Charity  School  was  organized  and  for 
many  years  the  children  of  the  school,  both  boys 
and   girls,    led   with   their    crude    singing    the 
metrical  psalms,  and  sang  an  occasional  simple 
anthem. 

With  the  advent  of  Dr.  Edward  Hodges,  the  Edward 
eminent    English    organist    and    composer,    in 
1839,   a  caj:»able  choir  was  for  the  first  time 
organized.    At  first  it  consisted  of  boys,  women, 
and  men,  who  occupied  places  in  the  organ  gal- 


190 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Arthur  H. 
Messiter. 


First 

Vestments 
in  "Old 
Trinity." 


Vested 

choirs 

displace 

quartette 

choirs. 


lerj  over  the  main  portal.  The  women  were 
gradiiallj  eliminated  and  early  in  1859  had  en- 
tirely disappeared.  Dr.  Messiter  in  his  inter- 
esting ^^History  of  the  Choir  and  Music  of  Trin- 
ity Church"  gives  an  entertaining  account  of  the 
well-nigh  surreptitious  methods  by  which  the 
choir  was  gradually  transferred  from  the  gal- 
lery to  the  chancel,  a  process  which  was  vigor- 
ously opposed  by  many  of  the  congregation. 
Several  sorties  were  made  during  week-day  ser- 
vices before  the  singers  were  permanently  in- 
trenched behind  the  choir  pews — ^but  with  the 
men  to  the  front.  The  choir  was  still  unvested 
and  the  question  of  surplices  was  also  a  matter 
of  bitter  controversy.  It  was  happily  solved  by 
the  apjDcarance  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  upon  the 
scene  of  strife,  and  in  order  not  to  offend  his 
majesty,  the  choir  was  properly  vested  on  the 
occasion  of  his  attending  service  at  Trinity  on 
October  14,  1860.  To  prevent  any  possible  em- 
barrassment the  vestments  were  worn  the  pre- 
vious Sunday  by  way  of  dress  rehearsal.  On 
this  occasion  two  loud  reports  were  heard  dur- 
ing the  reading  of  the  Second  Lesson,  and  a 
musket  ball  fell  in  one  of  the  pews,  without 
hurting  any  one.  Whether  it  was  a  hostile 
demonstration  or  not  was  never  ascertained. 

After  Trinity's  lead  the  use  of  the  vested 
choir  slowly  extended  to  other  parishes,  but  it 
was  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  profes- 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  191 

sional  quartette,  that  "baneful  medium  for  the 
glorification  of  four  people"  as  it  has  been  aptly 
put,  had  all  but  disappeared. 

In  the  west  the  honor  of  first  introducing  P^he^^"^^^* 
the  vested  choir  and  the  choral  service  belongs  west, 
to  Kacine,  Wis.     A  Mr.  Machin  was  appointed 
choirmaster  at  Racine  College  about  the  year  -^^^^^^^ 
1862,  and  the  simple  service  he  introduced  was  college, 
the  sensation  of  the  hour  by  reason  of  its  nov- 
elty.   As  none  of  the  college  clergy  could  intone, 
Mr.  Machin  did  so  himself,  and  he  was  conse-  Mr.  MacMn. 
quently  much  looked  up  to  for  his  superior  abil- 
ities.    Helmore's  Psalter  was  used,  but  little 
else  except  hymns  was  attempted.    He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  Mr.  Rowe,  also  an  Englishman,  and  ^'-  ^°^®- 
later  by  the  head-master,  Gerald  R.  MacDowell,   MacDoweii. 
who  was  very  gifted  as  a  choirmaster. 

The  material  for  the  choir  was  drawn  from 
the  various  schools,  but  the  constant  changes  in 
the  grammar  school  boys  and  the  undeveloped 
voices  of  the  college  students  left  much  to  be 
desired  in  the  general  effect.  The  institution 
fell  upon  evil  days  financially,  and  the  college 
department  was  finally  abandoned.  As  the  ser- 
vices were  confined  practically  to  the  faculty 
and  students  this  attempt  at  a  proper  musical 
service  had  but  little  influence  on  the  Church  at 
large. 

A  more  potent  and  far-reaching  endeavor  to 
establish  a  permanent  choral  service  was  made 


192 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Cathedral 
of  SS. 
Peter  and 
Paul, 
Chicago. 

First 
Cathedral 
in  U.  S. 


Mr.  Mozart, 
St.  James', 
Chicago. 


Trinity, 
Chicago. 
W.  D. 
Rowlands. 


in  the  year  1865,  when  Bishop  Whitehouse,  the 
second  Bishop  of  Illinois,  took  possession  of  the 
then  Church  of  the  Atonement,  and  made  it  the 
Cathedral  Church  of  the  diocese,  the  first  Cathe- 
dral foundation  to  be  established  in  the  United 
States. 

Several  attempts  were  made  at  this  period 
to  make  use  of  boys'  voices  in  other  churches  of 
Chicago,  but  vestments  were  not  used  nor  was 
the  choral  service  attempted.  A  man  by  the  ap- 
propriate name  of  Mozart  endeavoured  to  train 
boys  to  assist  in  the  music  of  St.  James'  Church, 
the  oldest  parish  in  the  city,  but  was  unsuccess- 
ful. A  better  venture  was  made  at  Trinity 
Church,  which  was  then  on  Jackson  street  where 
the  Illinois  theater  now  stands.  Mr.  W.  D. 
Rowlands,  who  sang  there  as  a  boy,  wrote  in 
1886  as  follows  concerning  music  at  Trinity: 

"I  sang  in  Trinity  Church  choir  twenty-one 
years  ago  (i.e.,  in  1865).  It  was  composed  of 
boys  exclusively.  We  numbered  fifteen  and  were 
seated  in  the  organ  gallery  over  the  entrance, 
seven  on  each  side  of  the  organ.  I,  being  the 
soloist,  had  a  seat  beside  the  lady  soloist  in 
front  of  the  organ,  and  used  to  feel  especially 
favored.  During  the  service  when  it  came  our 
turn  to  sing  the  curtains  were  always  drawn  so 
that  we  might  be  heard  and  not  seen.  We 
chanted  the  psalms,  I  singing  the  first  verse  and 
the  choir  responding,  changing  alternately.  The 
chorister  sat  down  stairs  and  we  were  left  to  our 
fate  upstairs.     We  always  managed  to  sing  in 


TBE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  193 

tune  and  to  keep  good  time.  Members  of  the 
congregation  often  spoke  of  the  thrilling  im- 
pression it  made  on  them — could  only  think  of 
angels'  voices  sounding  from  heaven,  vibrating 
through  the  rafters.  The  lady  soloist  always 
sang  one  selection  at  each  service  during  the 
collection.  I  sang  in  the  choir  two  years — it 
had  just  been  started  previous  to  my  joining.  I 
believe  it  was  continued  until  the  church  was 
destroyed  by  fire  (the  great  fire  in  1871).  Mr. 
Ludden  was  the  name  of  the  chorister.  Prof. 
Cutler,  I  think,  was  the  organist." 
To  return  to  the  Cathedral.     Mr.  William  cathedral 

Choir. 

Fitzhugh  Whitehouse,  a  son  of  the  Bishop,  was  wniiam 
an  amateur  organist  and  much  interested  in  the  wMtehouse. 
choral  service.     A  mixed  choir  already  existed 
and  occupied  seats  in  the  east  transept  under 
the  leadership  of  a  Mr.  Tobey.    Mr.  Whitehouse 
collected    some    boys    together    and    instructed 
them  in  the  mysteries  of  chanting.     They  occu- 
pied seats  in  the  west  transept  by  the  organ,  a 
small  and  inefficient  instrument,  incapable  of 
supporting  the  voices.     Mr.  Tobey  had  no  sym-  ^^-  ^o^ey- 
pathy  with  the  boys  and  friction  existed  between 
the  two  choirs.     The  most  agreeable  part  of  the 
service  musically  was  doubtless  the  fine  voice  of 
the  Bishop's  chaplain,  the  Rev.  John  Wilkinson.   wimiS?on. 
This  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs  lasted 
for  two  years,  when  the  mixed  choir  of  men  and 
women  was  dispensed  with.     Up  to  this  time  a 
small  sum  had  been  paid  the  singers,  but  the 
choir  was  now  put  upon  a  volunteer  basis.     In 


194 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Bishop 
Whitehouse. 


Bev.  John 

Harris 

Knowles. 


Rev.  C.  P. 
Dorset. 


First 

vested 

choir. 


his  address  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  in  1867 
the  Bishop  speaks  of  the  choir  as  follows: 

"The  music  has  risen  to  a  chaste  standard, 
and  the  well-trained  choir  of  boys  meets  our  ex- 
pectations. These  choristers  will  be  put  into 
surplices  as  soon  as  stall-seats  can  be  prepared 
and  a  larger  robing-room  built." 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  the  Rev.  John  Harris 
Knowles  of  St.  John's,  Naperville,  was  ap- 
pointed Canon  Chaplain  of  the  Cathedral. 
Canon  C.  P.  Dorset  was  precentor  of  the  choir 
and  Mr.  Whitehouse,  organist.  The  surplices 
came  before  the  larger  robing-room,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1868,  six  boys,  duly  vested  in  long  sur- 
plices, entered  the  chancel  from  the  diminutive 
vestry  room  singing  ^^Jerusalem,  the  golden,"  to 
Ewing's  well-known  tune.  Shortly  after  Canon 
Knowles  was  induced  to  take  charge  of  the 
choir,  but  much  against  his  wishes.  When  a 
student  in  the  General  Theological  Seminary  in 
'New  York  a  few  years  before  (1862),  he  had 
sung  in  Trinity  Church  choir  under  Dr.  Cutler 
where  he  became  familiar  with  many  traditional 
usages  in  the  English  choral  service  and  ac- 
quainted with  the  better  class  of  Church  music 
generally.  His  sensitive,  artistic  nature  was 
greatly  impressed  by  both  the  music  and  the 
dignified  ceremonial  that  obtained  at  ^'Old 
Trinity."  A  man  of  unusual  musical  apprecia- 
tion and  judgment,  he  labored  under  the  disad- 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  195 

vantage  of  having  had  but  meager  training  on 
the  practical  side  of  the  art. 

The  establishment  of  a  vested  choir  and  a  SfvMtJd^ 
choral   service  required  no  little  courage.      It  '^^°"^' 
was  an  unheard  of  thing  at  that  time  and  was 
looked  upon  as  rank  popery.     It  caused  dissen- 
sion and  bitter  feeling,  and  many  left  the  Cathe- 
dral for  other  parishes.     No  capable  or  experi- 
enced choirmaster  was  obtainable  short  of  im- 
portation from  England,  and  no  funds  were  at 
hand  to  pay  a  choirmaster  in  any  event.      So 
the  energetic  Canon  set  to  work,  gathered  to-  work*of 
gether  what  material  was  at  hand,  and  what  he  ^°^ies. 
lacked  in  professional  training  he  atoned  for 
in  unbounded  enthusiasm  and  fixity  of  purpose. 
Already  at  St.  John's,  I^aperville,  he  had  estab-  Napervu'ie, 
lished  a  choral  service  and  choral  celebration  in  ^^' 
1865,  but  with  an  unvested  choir  of  men  and 
women.     When  he  came  to  the  Cathedral  the  pirgt 
service  was  only  partly  choral,   but  soon  the  chora?'^*^ 
evening  service  was  completely  so,  Tallis'  Ke-  "'^<'®' 
spouses  and  Trinity  Psalter  being  used. 

The  choir  at  first  were  seated  in  wooden  Sous"begin- 
kitchen  chairs  arranged  choir-wise  in  the  chan-  ^^^^^• 
eel,  and  wore  long  surplices  without  cassocks. 
Among  the  half-dozen  men  were  two  or  three 
Englishmen — one  of  them  an  adult  alto — ^who 
had  sung  in  choirs  in  their  native  land.  It 
seems  incredible  that  a  Bishop,  two  canons,  and 
sixteen  choristers  all  robed  in  the  little  vestry- 


196 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


First  solo 
boy. 


Resource- 
fulness of 
Canon 
Knowles. 


First 
anthems. 


room  off  of  the  chancel,  which  is  now  the  organ 
chamber,  yet  such  was  the  case. 

The  writer  entered  the  choir  in  1868,  and 
was  the  first  boy  in  the  choir  to  sing  the  alto 
part  as  he  was  also  the  first  boy  to  sing  oratorio 
solos,  an  accomplishment  that  has  since  be- 
come of  common  occurence.  A  new  three-man- 
ual organ  soon  followed  the  old  one  in  the  west 
transept  and  it  was  considered  a  grand  instru- 
ment at  the  time  of  its  installation.  Its  distance 
from  the  choir  was  somewhat  of  a  disadvantage, 
a  condition  that  was  rectified  some  twelve  years 
later  by  its  removal  to  the  present  location. 

The  resourcefulness  of  Canon  Knowles  was 
early  manifested.  For  an  anthem  he  would 
take  a  short  psalm — the  Twenty-third  for  ex- 
ample— and  after  selecting  a  melodious  chant 
would  have  certain  verses  sung  as  solo,  duet  or 
quartette  to  contrast  with  the  full  chorus.  It 
was  not  long,  however,  before  real  anthems  were 
attempted  and  such  old-time  English  favorites 
as  ^^Behold,  how  good  and  joyful  a  thing  it  is," 
by  Kent,  "I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the 
hills,"  by  Whitfield,  "By  the  waters  of  Baby- 
lon," Allen,  were  imported  from  London,  as 
they  were  unattainable  in  this  country  at  that 
time.  Cutler's  "Trinity  Anthems"  were  also 
sung,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  such  a  fine  collection 
of  sterling  Church  music  has  since  fallen  into 
disuse.     Occasional    trips    to    England    added 


TEE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  197 

stimulus  to  the  zeal  and  musical  ambition  of  the  services. 
Canon,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  com- 
plete   musical    Services    were    given,    such    as 
Smart  in  F,  Armes  in  A,  and  Stainer  in  E  flat. 

The  choir  was  strictly  a  volunteer  or^aniza-   cathedral 

•/  ^  c5  choir  a 

tion  and  its  function  and  importance  were  duly  volunteer 

■"■  '      organiza- 

magnified.     In  1870  the  Cathedral  Choristers'   tion. 
Association  was  formed  with  its  quota  of  offi-  choristers' 
cials.     As  its  printed  constitution  read,  it  was  ^^^°°^**^o^ 
formed  ^^to  secure  for  the  choral  worship  of  Al- 
mighty God  that  attention  which  such  a  holy 
work  demands ;  to  insure  the  proper  rendering  of 
the  same  by  careful  preparation  in  rehearsals, 
and  prompt  and  regular  attendance  at  public 
services,  and  by  organization  to  perpetuate  and 
place  on  a  firmer  basis  the  volunteer  choir  of 
the  Cathedral  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul." 

Monthly  business  meetings  were  held  and  choir 
the  junior  choristers  elected  representatives,  ^c*^^"®*- 
who  attended  these  meetings  with  full  voting 
powers.  Choir  picnics,  excursions,  and  ban- 
quets were  held,  and  choral  services  were  given 
in  other  churches  and  communities,  thus  spread- 
ing a  love  and  desire  for  the  choral  service. 
Prizes  and  medals  were  awarded  at  the  annual 
Christmas  festival  of  the  Sunday  school  to 
worthy  boys  for  attendance,  progress  in  music, 
and  reverential  demeanor,  and  all  received  valu- 
able gifts.  Admission  of  juniors  to  the  choir 
was  effected  through  the  use  of  a  formal  service 


198 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


laying  stress  on  the  sacredness  of  the  office.  At 
the  Sunday  School  festival  on  Trinity  Sunday 
selected  choir  boys  would  read  from  the  lectern 
lessons  illustrative  of  the  Christian  year.  The 
choir  increased  in  size  until  it  numbered  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  members, 
festival  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  efficiency  attained  by  the  choir 

service.  ^t  this  period  is  best  shown  by  its  first  festival 

service,  which  was  held  in  the  Cathedral  on  [N'o- 
vember  30,  1870.' 

Processional,  "Songs  of  Praise,"  arranged  from 

a  March  by Costa. 

Cantate  and  Deus  Misereatur  in  A 

Bridgewater. 

Anthem^  "Like  as  a  Father" Hatton. 

Gloria  in  Excelsis  from  Twelfth  Mass.  .Mozart. 
Solo,  "0  Thou  That  Tellest  Good  Tidings  to 

Zion." 
Solo,  "But  Thou  Didst  Not  Leave  His  Soul  in 

Hell. 
Chorus,  "Hallelujah" 

From  the  "Messiah,"  Handel. 

puneraiof  The  funeral  of  Bishop  Whitehouse  was  a 

Bishop  .  ^     .  . 

Whitehouse.  memorable  occasion,  the  music  being  of  a  most 
impressive  and  appropriate  character.  Canon 
Knowles  had  remarkable  tact  and  taste  in  plan- 
ning  and  executing  ceremonials,   and  he  was 

1  Simple  daily  choral  services  were  held  at  this  time  coin- 
ciding with  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  Cathedral  Day 
School,  the  writer  beginning  his  career  as  organist  on 
these  occasions  with  the  limited  repertoire  of  one  hymn 
and  one  chant.  He  later  became  assistant  organist  to  Mr. 
William  Fitzhugh  Whitehouse,  and  upon  the  resignation  of 
the  latter  (at  the  time  his  father,  the  Bishop,  died),  he  be- 
came  organist. 


THE  TESTED  MALE  CHOIR  199 

equally  successful  in  arranging  the  services  at  consecra- 
the  consecration   of  Bishop   ]\IcLaren   on  De-   Bishop 

McLaren. 

cember  8,  1875.  Seven  or  eight  Bishops  were 
present  and  a  host  of  clergy.  The  choir  ac- 
quitted themselves  finely  with  Gounod's  St.  Ce- 
cilia ^lass — then  a  novelty. 

A  number  of  standard  anthems  and  services 
by  such  composers  as  Stainer,  Barnby,  Smart, 
Sullivan,  Gounod,  etc.,  received  their  first  per- 
formance west  of  Xew  York  at  the  hands  of 
the  Cathedral  choir  under  the  guidance  of 
Canon  Knowles.  That  the  attainments  of  the 
choir  constantly  increased  is  evidenced  by  a  lec- 
ture on  Church  music  given  by  the  Canon  on  iJJcturfon 
February  16,  1879.  The  church  was  packed  ^^^^f 
and  the  lecture  was  repeated  on  March  11,  fol- 
lowing. The  musical  illustrations  sung  by  the 
choir  were  as  follows : 

Gregorian  Music:  The  Seventh  and  Eighth 
Tones  and  the  Hymn  "Pange  Lingua." 

AxGLiCAX  Chaxts  : Croft  and  Barnhy. 

Hymn  Music  :  Cruger  and  Dykes. 

AXTHEMS : 

"O  Where  Shall  Wisdom  be  Found,".  .Boyce. 

"Hosanna  in  the  Highest," Stainer. 

Music  for  the  Holy  Eucharist:  Gounod's  St. 
Cecilia  Mass.  Selections  from  Barnhy  and 
Garrett. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  this  mu-  of  canon 
sical  activity  on  the  part  of  Canon  Knowles  was  ^^°^^®^- 
in  addition  to  his  regular  priestly  duties,  and 


200  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

it  was  only  at  times  that  he  had  any  assistance 
in  this  latter  respect.  It  required  great  devo- 
tion and  purpose,  unflagging  zeal  and  a  world 
of  patience.  It  was  musical  pioneering  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  and  Church  music  throughout 
the  West  received  a  great  impetus  through  the 
courage,  conviction,  and  high  standards  of 
this  enthusiastic  champion  of  good  Church  art. 
^o  trouble  or  expense  was  too  great  when  mu- 
sical  ideals   were    concerned.     A   large,    well- 

library.  selected,  and  comprehensive  musical  library 
was  largely  paid  for  out  of  the  Canon's  slender 
purse,  and  if  works  were  too  expensive  to  buy  or 
unobtainable,  his  own  hand  spent  many  weary 
hours  in  making  MS.  copies.  His  discriminat- 
ing taste  permitted  nothing  unworthy,  and  his 
whole-hearted  consecration  to  the  cause  had  its 
reward  in  setting  a  proper  standard  of  Church 
music  in  its  proper  setting  of  a  Cathedral. 

Social  The  chorister  of  the  old  Cathedral  days  has 

many  pleasant  recollections  stored  in  his  mem- 
ory: of  picnics  and  excursions,  of  concerts  and 
social  gatherings.  Two  pleasant  trips  were 
made  to  Aurora,  111.,  one  at  the  laying  of  the 
cornerstone  of  a  new  church  and  a  second  to 
give  a  benefit  concert.  Several  most  enjoyable 
trips  were  made  to  Racine  College  on  invitation 
of  the  lamented  Dr.  de  Koven,  where  the  sing- 
ing of  the  Cathedral  Choir  was  much  admired. 
The     Knights     Templars'     service     at     Grace 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  201 

Church  and  a  special  service  for  St.  George's 
Society  at  the  Cathedral  were  always  pictur- 
esque and  interesting  occasions. 

As   in   the   case   of   ^'Old    Trinity,"    ITew  JelfoT' 
York,  the  Cathedral  Choir  has  developed  mu-  gjjj^*^ 
sicians  of  prominence  who  in  all  probability 
would  have  followed  other  pursuits  had  it  not 
been  for  the  early  musical  surroundings  which 
brought  forth  talent  and  perhaps  unsuspected  ^^^^^^^^ 
ability.     Isov  was  the  bold  stand  in  regard  to  choirs, 
a  full  choral  service  at  the  Cathedral  without  its 
effect  throughout  the   diocese.     Parishes  with 
High   Church   proclivities   were   naturally   the 
first  to  follow.     On   Christmas   day,    1870,   a 
vested  choir  of  seventeen  boys  and  eight  men 
made  their  first  appearance  in  the  Church  of 
the  Ascension.     This  was  shortly  after  Canon  Ascension, 
Dorset,  the  first  precentor  of  the  Cathedral,  had  Chicago, 
been  appointed  priest  there.     The  organist  was   Hg^^y 
Henry  Pilcher,  a  former  Cathedral  boy.    From   Piicher. 
the  nature  of  the  services  at  the  Ascension,  spe- 
cial stress  was  laid  on  the  Mass  music,  and  in 
later  years  under  Father  Kitchie  with  Harrison  J^J^" 

•^^  ^  ^  Eitchie. 

M.  Wild  as  organist  and  choirmaster,  the  church  Harrison 
became  notable  for  its  fine  selection  of  Masses. 
Not  only  were  the  usual  run  of  English  Com- 
munion services  used,  such  as  Stainer,  Monk, 
Dykes,  but  also  adaptations  from  the  Latin  JfasTes. 
Masses  of  Weber,  Mozart,  Gounod,  etc.  The 
Ascension  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 


202 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Gregorians. 


Calvary, 
Chicago. 


St.  James' 
Chicago. 


John  L. 
Hughes. 


C.  E. 
Reynolds. 


William 

Smedley. 

Grace 

Church, 

Chicago. 


St. 

Clement's, 

Chicago. 


Canon 
Knowles. 


church  in  the  diocese  to  use  a  real  Gregorian 
psalter  (Eedhead's)  and  to  make  persistent  use 
of  plainsong  hymn  tunes. 

If  the  writer's  memory  is  not  at  fault,  Cal- 
vary Church  followed  next  with  the  vested 
choir.  The  more  prominent  and  aristocratic 
churches  were  slower  in  giving  up  their  quar- 
tette choirs.  St.  James'  had  elected  Dr.  Vib- 
bert  from  the  East  as  its  rector,  and  he  stipu- 
lated a  vested  choir  as  one  of  the  conditions  of 
acceptance.  On  May  4,  1884,  after  nine  months 
of  arduous  drill  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
John  L.  Hughes,  Chicago's  first  English  choir- 
master, the  choir  appeared  in  the  chancel,  and 
in  regard  to  tonal  quality  and  finish  it  sur- 
passed all  others  in  the  diocese.  Mr.  C.  E. 
Reynolds  was  the  organist.  Mr.  Hughes  soon 
resigned  on  account  of  ill  health  and  the  choir 
attained  great  proficiency  and  a  most  enviable 
reputation  under  the  enthusiastic  and  devoted 
guidance  of  Mr.  William  Smedley.  Grace 
Church  soon  followed  with  a  semi-choral  even- 
ing service  in  October,  1884,  the  quartette  choir 
singing  in  the  morning  and  continuing  until 
January  1,  1886,  when  the  vested  choir  per- 
formed full  duty.  Then  came  the  new  St. 
Clement's  Church,  where,  on  [N^ovember  23, 
1884,  at  its  dedication  a  vested  choir  of  eleven 
boys  and  ten  men  sang  a  full  choral  service. 
Canon  Knowles,  who  had  severed  his  connection 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  203 

with  the  Cathedral,  was  priest,  and  the  writer 
was  choirmaster  and  organist. 

The  remaining  churches  in  Chicago  in-  Rapid 
stalled  vested  choirs  in  rapid  succession  and  of  vested 
the  custom  spread  to  the  smaller  towns;  even 
village  churches  are  not  content  without  some 
semblance  of  a  ^^boy  choir."  It  is  an  open  ques- 
tion whether  the  movement  is  the  result  of  a 
desire  to  conform  to  Churchly  traditions,  or 
whether  the  motive  springs  from  a  wish  to  emu- 
late the  larger  parishes.  If  a  surpliced  choir 
always  satisfied  the  ear  as  well  as  it  does  the 
eye,  the  veil  of  charity  might  well  be  drawn 
over  the  underlying  impulse. 

If  a  chancel  choir  must  obtain  there  is  no  chancei 
question  but  that  it  should  consist  of  males,  males 
In  this  regard  the  Church  patterns  after  the 
Temple  service,  where  the  choir  consisted  of  ^g^^^ent 
males  drawn  from  the  tribe  of  Levi.  Women 
and  girls  sang  only  in  the  congregation  or  in  the 
court  set  apart  for  the  use  of  women,  but  not 
in  the  sanctuary,  to  which  our  chancel  corre- 
sponds. It  is  against  all  tradition,  precedent, 
or  practice  in  all  the  historic  churches  to  permit 
women  to  perform  priestly  functions,  and  the 
services  of  a  chancel  choir  can  only  be  looked 
upon  as  an  adjunct  to  the  priestly  ministrations 
at  the  altar.  While  the  Church  of  Rome  has 
allowed  its  music  to  become  secularized  to  a 
certain  extent,  and  has  made  extensive  use  of 


204 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Practical 
reasons 
for  male 
choirs. 


Other 
factors. 


Advantages 
of  the 
female 
voice. 


women  singers,  they  have  always  been  relegated 
to  the  gallery  and  naught  but  men  and  boys 
permitted  in  the  chancel. 

There  are  purely  practical  reasons  for 
the  use  of  male  choirs.  Boys  and  men  are 
sturdier  than  girls  or  women  and  may  be  de- 
pended upon  in  all  weather  and  at  all  times. 
It  is  no  infrequent  spectacle  on  a  stormy  night 
to  find  more  people  in  the  choir  stalls  than  in 
the  pewSj  and  the  worship  of  Almighty  God  pro- 
ceeds undisturbed,  as  it  should,  regardless  of 
Aveather  or  the  presence  of  a  congregation. 

Thus  we  have  excellent  reasons  for  the  use  of 
male  choirs  on  account  of  their  fitness,  utility, 
and  reliability.  But  other  factors  enter  into 
the  discussion.  As  has  been  before  intimated, 
there  is  also  a  fundamental  principle  that  in  its 
public  services  the  Church  should  only  offer  its 
best:  its  best  in  thought,  diction,  ceremonial, 
and  material  surroundings.  This  principle 
should  certainly  be  extended  both  to  music  and 
the  manner  of  its  performance.  With  sufficient 
means  and  material  this  end  is  best  subserved 
by  a  choir  of  men  and  boys.  While  the  trained 
boy  voice  is  indisputably  the  most  beautiful  of 
all,  the  untrained  boy  voice  is  exactly  the  re- 
verse. We  have  much  better  raw  material  in 
the  voices  of  girls  and  young  women.  They 
naturally  produce  a  more  agreeable  quality  of 
tone,  they  are  innately  more  refined  and  mu- 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  205 

sical,  and  far  better  results  can  be  obtained 
from  them  with  less  ability  and  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  choirmaster,  than  is  the  case  with 
boys.  Moreover  they  are  better  behaved,  more 
docile,  and  their  voices  have  not  the  annoying 
trick  of  breaking  when  the  point  of  maximum 
usefulness  has  been  gained.  It  is  a  question 
of  relative  values  in  many  instances.  On  the 
one  hand  we  have  the  male  choir  with  its  tradi- 
ditional  authority  and  fitness,  plus  coarse  sing- 
ing, poor  interpretation,  and  boisterous  behav- 
iour ;  on  the  other  we  have  the  mixed  choir  with 
its  violation  of  churchly  custom,  plus  better 
voices,  more  artistic  finish,  and  better  conduct. 

The  writer  would  at  once  cast  his  vote  for  ^enTo¥" 
the  latter,  provided  always  that  the  girls  or  "jj®^ 
women  were  not  permitted  to  sit  in  the  chancel. 
They  could  occupy  seats  in  the  front  pews 
where  they  would  be  sufficiently  near  the  men 
to  produce  a  good  effect  musically.  Academic 
gowns  and  "mortar-board"  caps  would  seem  the 
most  appropriate  garb  for  the  women,  while  the 
men  (occupying  the  chancel)  would  retain  their 
historic  vestments.  This  arrangement  would 
not  interfere  with  the  much-beloved  choral  pro- 
cessionals, as  the  women  could  file  into  their 
seats,  the  men  diverging  into  the  chancel.^ 

In  some  cases  one-half  of  the  frantic  effort 


2  The   processional    is   a    purely   American    habit,    and   is 
only  indulged  in   on  special  occasions  in  England. 


206 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


The  quar- 
tette choir. 


The 

precentor. 


A  choir 
of  girls 
only. 


spent  in  sustaining  an  unsatisfactory  boy  choir 
would  result  in  a  good  mixed  choir,  which 
w^ould  render  the  music  in  an  agreeable  and 
effective  manner.  Good  results  are  also  ob- 
tained with  a  few  good  women  voices  Avhen  the 
boys  are  weak  and  unequal  to  the  task.  One 
hears  excellent  music  by  choirs  of  this  charac- 
ter, but  unfortunately  the  unchurchly  custom  of 
seating  the  women  in  the  chancel  is  generally 
followed. 

Even  the  quartette  choir  is  not  an  unmiti- 
gated evil.  If  proper  music  is  selected,  and  the 
voices  are  well-trained  and  agreeable,  very  good 
music  is  indeed  possible,  if  not  of  the  most  desir- 
able churchly  quality.  However,  one  good 
singer  to  lead  the  congregational  singing,  and  to 
do  an  occasional  solo,  is  preferable  to  a  poor 
quartette,  and  infinitely  better  than  a  combina- 
tion of  two  or  three  voices  when  the  harmony 
will  be  out  of  balance.  The  writer  heard  some 
quite  satisfactory  singing  by  a  choir  of  but  four 
girls  in  a  Northern  Michigan  church.  They 
were  vested  but  occupied  seats  in  the  transept 
in  front  of  the  organ.  The  voices  were  fresh 
and  good,  and  of  ample  volume  to  fill  the  small 
church.  In  the  hands  of  an  experienced  organ- 
ist very  excellent  music  indeed  could  have  been 
supplied  by  these  four  young  girls.  But  there, 
again,  is  the  crux  of  the  whole  situation,  an  ex- 
perienced organist !    Small  towns  do  not  possess 


THE  TESTED  MALE  CHOIR 


207 


them  and  small  churches  cannot  afford  to 
pay  them.  In  any  congregation  of  a  hundred 
people  there  is  hidden  enough  musical  ability 
to  make  a  good  choir  provided  there  is  a  musi- 
cian at  hand  with  sufficient  wit,  devotion,  and  re- 
sourcefulness to  extract  it.  This  is  where  Eng- 
land has  a  great  advantage  over  us.  Between 
her  choir  schools  and  her  many  fine  choirs  she  is 
supplied  with  capable  choirmasters  who  know 
their  business,  and  their  number  is  constantly 
increasing,  but  with  us,  outside  of  the  large 
cities,  capable  choir  leaders  are  indeed  few  and 
far  between.  Here  again  the  necessity  for  the 
adequate  training  of  church  musicians  is 
brought  to  the  fore — a  training  which  the 
Church  herself  should  provide. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  attending  the  boy 
choir  in  the  small  church  is  the  spirit  of  mis- 
placed emulation  which  seeks  to  use  precisely 
the  same  music  that  is  sung  in  the  larger 
churches  with  well-equipped  choirs.  Nothing 
is  more  painful,  reprehensible,  or  utterly  inex- 
cusable than  the  performance  of  music  beyond 
the  capacity  of  a  choir.  Man  is  not  edified  nor 
God  glorified  by  a  choir  madly  wrestling  with 
music  beyond  its  powers,  offending  sensitive 
ears  with  its  unseemly  noises,  and  keeping  the 
auditors  in  a  state  of  nervous  tension  for  fear  of 
a  total  collapse !  The  whole  object  and  purpose 
of  music  is  perverted  under  such  circumstances. 


Limitations 
and  pos- 
sibilities of 
small 
parishes. 


England's 
advantages 
and  our 
deficiencies. 


Small 
choirs  too 
ambitious. 


208 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Justice 
due  the 
composer. 


Choirmaster 
to  blame. 


Choirs 

need 

incentive. 


A  composer  gives  forth  to  the  world  his  best 
thoughts,  assuming  at  least  that  they  will  be 
sung  in  tune  and  wdth  reasonable  accuracy, 
agreeable  tone  production,  and  intelligent  inter- 
pretation— else  his  most  noble  conceptions  be- 
come travesties  and  instead  of  offering  to  Al- 
mighty God  something  worthy  of  His  praise, 
we  offer  Him  but  a  caricature  of  what  the  com- 
poser intended. 

Choirmasters  are  principally  to  blame  for 
this  lamentable  state  of  affairs,  and  it  results 
from  one  of  two  causes:  either  the  choirmaster 
is  incapable  of  selecting  music  suited  to  the 
capacity  of  his  forces,  and  hence  must  borrow^ 
ideas  from  his  neighbors,  or  else  he  thinks  that 
for  the  protection  of  his  own  dignity  and  stand- 
ing he  must  have  compositions  of  a  certain  class 
on  his  programmes,  regardless  of  how  they  may 
be  performed. 

But  the  retort  is  made  that  you  cannot  in- 
terest a  choir  for  any  length  of  time  by  singing 
hymns  and  chants  and  simple  anthems.  There 
is  a  modicum  of  truth  in  this.  Choirs,  and  es- 
pecially volunteer  choirs,  must  be  kept  inter- 
ested or  disintegration  will  set  in.  To  a  certain 
extent  choristers  must  be  kept  on  their  mettle 
and  be  given  tasks  that  require  application  and 
perseverance.  To  sing  the  same  old  things  over 
and  over  again  will  demoralize  any  choir;  they 
must  have  change  and  new  incentives  to  effort. 


TEE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  209 

To  meet  this  necessity  tliere  is  an  enormous  out- 
put of  church  music,  of  all  degrees  of  merit  and 
difficulty,  and  it  is  being  added  to  every  day  at 
an  astonishing  rate.  To  select  properly  from  S°good^^ 
this  immense  mass  requires  time,  patience,  ex-  "^^s^c- 
perience,  and  judgment,  qualities  that  are  not 
often  found  in  one  choirmaster,  especially  if  he 
is  on  scant  pay.  It  is  much  simpler  and  easier 
to  note  the  programmes  of  neighboring  churches 
and  to  use  these  selections  whether  they  are 
suitable  or  not. 

Another  factor  in  the  equation  is  that  choir- 
masters who  have  not  the  ability  or  knack  of 
getting  a  good  tone  become  dulled  in  their  musi- 
cal perceptions  and  take  roughness  and  crude- 
ness  as  a  necessary  evil  that  cannot  be  elimi- 
nated. 

While  it  frequently  is  desirable  to  have  a  Good 
choir  modify  its  ambitions  respecting  the  use  of  always  a 
difficult  and  intricate  compositions,  it  is  not  in-  ^^^^^^  ^' 
tended    to    imply    that    there    should    be    a 
weakening    in    the    quality    of    the    music    se- 
lected.    There   is   good   and   bad   music   from 
the  simplest  to  the  most  complex.     It  is  a  fact 
that  there  is  little  difficulty  in  interesting  the 
members  of  a  choir  in  good  music.     They  may 
object  at  the  start,  but  with  a  little  perseverance 
good  music  is  sure  to  win  its  way.     As  with 
hymn  singing,  if  good  standards  once  prevail 
no    inferior    product    will    suffice.      But    it    is 


210  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

cultivation  ^^^^^^b'  to  the  point  to  Cultivate  the  taste  and 
perception  of  the  singers  as  regards  artistic, 
musical  interpretation — to  appreciate  good 
tone  quality,  fine  shading  and  expression,  ac- 
curacy, and  good  pitch.  Here,  again,  where  the 
esthetic  sensibilities  have  once  been  thoroughly 
aroused,  nothing  short  of  good  work  will  satisfy 
the  singers. 

The  esthetic  Boys  and  young  men  are  prone  to  look  upon 

singing  as  an  athletic  exercise  for  the  display  of 
strength.  There  is  a  certain  excitement  in  mak- 
ing a  noise,  and  this  in  addition  to  the  mental 
alertness  required  in  reading  words  and  music 
at  once,  together  with  the  pleasure  in  the  music 
itself,  makes  rather  an  attractive  occupation. 
So,  unless  carefully  guided,  the  young  idea  is 
apt  to  acquire  a  very  mistaken  notion  of  what 
music  really  is.  When  once  an  appreciation  of 
the  "still  small  voice"  is  awakened  and  when  a 
chorister  can  discriminate  between  mere  noise 
and  musical  sonority,  many  of  the  choirmas- 
ter's troubles  will  have  disappeared. 

Choir  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  establish  these  de- 

BchooiB.  sirable  conditions  of  esthetic  advancement  un- 
less choristers  have  the  advantage  of  daily  drill 
in  music,  and  daily  drill  is  only  possible  when 
there  is  a  choir  school.  This  brings  us  back  to 
the  important  subject  of  the  choir  school,  the 
institution  which  has  given  to  England  its  ac- 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  211 

knowledged  preeminence  over  all  other  nations 
in  the  matter  of  musical  services. 

Although  Trinity  Church,  i^ew  York  City,   Jj^^^-^^^k 
does  not  maintain  a  choir  school,  it  is  in  her   city, 
records  that  we  first  find  mention  of  attempts  in 
that   direction.      The   children   of   her   charity 
school,  established  in  1709,  were  the  first  to  re- 
ceive instruction  in  church  music,  although  it 
was  of  the  most  elementary  character.     Later 
the  school  became  exclusively   a  boys'   school. 
In    1843    steps  were  taken   by  the   vestry   of  ^^^^ 
the  parish  to  improve  the  musical  instruction  instruction 

^  ^  in  Parish 

and,  doubtless  under  pressure  from  Dr.  Edward  day  school. 
Hodges,  the  noted  organist,  sixteen  scholarships 
were  established  for  pupils  of  the  parish  school, 
who  were  to  be  instructed  in  music  two  days  a 
week  by  the  parish  musical  director.  The 
scheme,  however,  did  not  prove  very  satisfac- 
tory. Dr.  Hodges  reporting  in  1847  that 
"Trinity  school  does  not  furnish  musical  talent 
enough  to  feed  the  class."  The  boys  at  this 
period  sat  in  the  gallery  opposite  the  altar  and 
were  not  vested. 

About  the  year  1870  in  the  Cathedral  of  SS.  gJ^^^J^^^^^ 
Peter  and  Paul,  Chicago,  a  parish  day  school  J,«jjj°°^' 
was  in  existence  which  was  also  intended  to 
serve  as  a  choir  school.  The  resources  of  the 
Cathedral  did  not  permit  of  the  employment  of 
a  professional  musician,  and  the  instruction  of 
the    choristers    in    music    was    undertaken    by 


212 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Daily 
choral 
service. 


St.  Paul's 

Choir 

school, 

Baltimore. 

Dr.  J.  S.  B. 

Hodges. 


Grace 

Church 

Choir 

school, 

New  York 

City. 


Canon  Knowles.  Daily  choral  morning  and 
evening  services  were  maintained  until  the 
great  fire  in  1871,  when  conditions  were  created 
which  put  an  end  to  the  venture,  although  both 
the  Cathedral  and  the  school  buildings  escaped 
the  ravages  of  the  flames. 

The  first  church  in  this  country  to  establish 
permanently  a  choir  school  was  St.  Paul's, 
Baltimore,  where  the  venerable  Dr.  J.  S.  B. 
Hodges  was  rector.  It  is  peculiarly  appropriate 
that  this  should  be  the  case,  for  Dr.  Hodges  is 
not  only  an  accomplished  musician  but  also  a 
son  of  the  famous  Dr.  Edward  Hodges  already 
referred  to  in  connection  with  "Old  Trinity," 
'Ne^Y  York.  St.  Paul's  choir  school  was 
founded  in  1873  and  accommodates  thirty  boys. 
A  priest  is  headmaster  with  a  musician  as  as- 
sistant. Two  courses  of  study  are  offered,  one 
leading  to  college,  the  other  to  holy  orders,  with 
the  result  that  seven  graduates  have  been  or- 
dained ministers  of  the  Church. 

The  first  choir  school  in  ]^ew  York  City  was 
established  by  Grace  Church,  Broadway  and 
Tenth  street.  Grace  Church  was  one  of  the  last 
to  abandon  the  quartette  choir,  but  when  it 
adopted  the  vested  choir  it  did  so  in  no  half- 
hearted way,  for  liberal  provision  was  made  for 
the  support  and  maintenance  of  the  choristers. 
Some  six  years  ago  a  splendidly  equipped  build- 
ing was  erected  for  the  use  of  the  choir  school. 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR 


213 


containing  reception  room,  library,  dining- 
room,  dormitories  for  sixteen  boys,  besides  the 
necessary  domestic  quarters  and  an  infirmary 
with  apartments  for  trained  nurses.  An  ad- 
joining tower  supplies  lecture  and  recitation 
rooms,  and  a  gymnasium.  The  roofs  of  both 
structures  provide  a  playground  after  the  man- 
ner of  St.  Paul's  choir-house  in  London.  Four- 
teen day  scholars  are  accepted  in  addition  to  the 
sixteen  boarders.  The  latter  are  attracted  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  by  the  superiority  of 
the  instruction,  including  as  it  does  courses 
leading  to  a  business  as  well  as  to  a  professional 
life,  and  by  the  distinction  of  singing  in  a  prom- 
inent metropolitan  church. 

A  choir  school  was  maintained  at  Fond  du 
Lac,  Wis.,  for  some  years,  where  the  Cathedral 
Close  is  surrounded  by  a  group  of  solidly-con- 
structed buildings  which  are  excellent  models  of 
good  ecclesiastical  architecture.  The  group  in- 
cludes the  Cathedral  proper  (with  its  stained 
glass,  its  artistic  frescoes,  sculpture  and  paint- 
ings), a  large  and  finely  equipped  Girls'  School, 
a  Clergy-house  and  a  Choir  School.  Unfortu- 
nately, through  lack  of  funds  the  latter  is  tem- 
porarily closed. 

The  Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine  in 
ISTew  York  City,  looking  to  the  future  establish- 
ment of  a  more  complete  plant,  instituted  a 
day    school    for    choristers    some    years    since. 


Business 
and  pro- 
fessional 
courses. 


Cathedral 
Choir 
school, 
Fond  du 
Lac. 


Cathedral 
Choir 
school, 
New  York 
City. 


214  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

Like  the  school  at  Grace  Church,  the  instruction 
offered  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  draw  a  very  de- 
sirable class  of  boys,  while  the  gymnasium  and 
Gjrmnasium    military  drill  are  additional  attractions.  Candi- 
tarydriu.       dates  for  admission  must  be  from  nine  to  eleven 
years  of  age,  of  good  character,  and  give  promise 
of  real  vocal  and  musical  ability.    After  accept- 
ance they   are   periodically   examined,    and   if 
found  wanting  musically  or  otherwise  they  are 
dropped  from  the  rolls.     Furthermore  the  par- 
ents are  obliged  to  sign  an  agreement  not  to 
withdraw  their  sons  from  the  school  without  ex- 
press permission. 
NeJIoT''  St.    Thomas'   Church,   Fifth   avenue,   N^ew 

City.  York,  is  another  instance  of  a  parish  slow  to  in- 

troduce the  surpliced  choir  but  ready  to  give 
generous  support  to  the  change  the  moment  it 
is  once  decided  upon.  Five  years  ago  this 
church  maintained  a  famous  musical  service 
performed  by  a  quartette  and  mixed  chorus.  It 
has  funds  in  hand,  it  is  reported,  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  choir  school  and  will  doubtless  be  the 
next  to  provide  itself  with  adequately  trained 
boys. 
Sai,^wash-  The  new  Cathedral  at  Washington  has  plans 

ington,  D.  c.  already  drawn  for  a  magnificent  choir  school. 
A  generous  Churchwoman  has  made  ample 
financial  provision,  not  only  for  the  building,  but 
for  an  endowment  as  well.  We  therefore  have 
promise  in  the  near  future  of  choirs  that  should 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  215 

vie  with  the  best  in  England  and  which  should 
be  a  constant  incentive  to  the  wealthier  parishes 
to  "go  and  do  likewise.'' 

Choir  schools  can  be  maintained  at  an  ex-  Expense  of 

choir 

pense  varying  from  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  schools, 
annum  to  ten  times  that  amount.  The  mini- 
mum sum  would  naturally  represent  a  modest 
establishment  for  day  scholars  only,  and  it 
could  support  but  a  headmaster  and  one  assist- 
ant. But  with  the  right  instruction  and  in- 
structors such  a  school,  with  its  close  personal 
attention,  its  superior  moral  tone,  and  its  musi- 
cal advantages,  would  offer  decided  attractions. 
Such  adjuncts  as  a  gymnasium  and  military 
drill  (which  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  boys 
themselves)  would  require  a  larger  appropria- 
tion but  would  doubtless  pay  in  the  end.  The 
proposition  of  housing  and  boarding  students 
would  call  for  still  more  funds  and  could  only 
be  considered  by  wealthy  parishes. 

It  is  quite  within  the  range  of  possibility  Possibility 
for  a  choir  school  to  attain  such  a  degree  of  mainte- 
excellence  in  its  instruction,  outside  of  the  mu-     *"^' 
sical  subjects,  as  to  attract  pay  students  in  suf- 
ficient numbers  to  either  partly  or  wholly  de- 
fray the  cost  of  maintenance.' 

3  In  addition  to  its  Cathedrals,  England  has  some  thirty 
or  forty  parishes  and  college  chapels  supplied  with  choir 
schools.  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  maintains  its  choir  from 
an  endowment  left  some  five  centuries  ago.  A  condition  of 
the  bequest  is  to  the  effect  that  the  support  of  the  choir 
is  the  last  thing  to  suffer  in  case  of  a  shrinkage  of  income. 
In   the  more   famous  schools   a   notice  of   a  vacancy   brings 


216 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Choir 
schools 
the  one 
satisfactory 
solution. 


Literature 
on  vested 
choirs. 


Church 

choir 

training. 

John 

Troutbeck. 


The  choir  school  is  the  one  satisfactory  solu- 
tion of  the  ^^boy  choir"  question,  but  unfortu- 
nately it  is  a  solution  open  to  comparatively 
few  of  our  churches.  The  many  parishes 
which  could  not  possibly  consider  the  establish- 
ment of  such  a  school  will  have  to  content  them- 
selves with  existing  circumstances,  in  the  hope 
that  the  near  future  may  produce  a  larger 
supply  of  capable,  reverent,  and  devoted  Church 


musicians. 


The  literature  on  the  formation,  the  train- 
ing, and  the  management  of  boy  choirs  is  so 
plentiful,  practical,  and  up-to-date  that  it 
Avould  be  a  waste  of  time  and  effort  to  give 
any  hints  or  suggestions  along  these  lines  in 
a  paper  of  this  nature.  Excellent  books  are 
published  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  but 
those  bearing  an  American  imprint  will  be 
found  the  more  useful,  as  the  conditions  in  this 
country  are  distinctly  different  from  those  in 
England. 

One  of  the  oldest  English  books  on  the  sub- 
ject is  by  Dr.  Troutbeck,  a  former  precentor  of 
Westminster  Abbey.  It  gives  a  wholesome 
insight  into  what  is  expected  of  a  thoroughly 
trained  choir,  and  contains  a  valuable  list  of 
services  and  anthems  for  all  possible  occasions 
and  of  the  highest  merit.    J.  Varley  Roberts  in 


a  flood  of  applications,  and  all  concerning  boys  of  superior 
musical   and  general    intelligence. 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  217 

his  "Practical  Methods  of  Traininfir  Choristers"  Practical 

11  1  1-111  -1     metliodof 

reveals  the  processes  by  which  he  has  attained   training 

.  I'll'  11'  choristers. 

such  superior  results  with  his  noted  choir   at  J.  variey 
Magdalen   College,    Oxford.     It   is   admirably 
edited  and  printed  and  contains  fifty-four  pages 
of  practical  exercises.     The  "Art  of  Training 
Choir  Boys/'   from  the   hands  of   Sir  George 
Martin,  organist  and  choirmaster  of  St.  Paul's  Art  of 
Cathedral,    London,    is    a    concise    and    useful  choirboys, 
book  by  that  eminent  Church  musician  and  lays  Martin. 
stress  on  the  necessity  of  a  knowledge  of  voice 
culture.     It  is  supplied  with  copious  vocal  ex- 
ercises. 

A.    Madeley   Richardson,    formerly    or^an-   "Choir- 
ist  and  choirmaster  at  St.  Saviour's  Collegiate   Based  on 
Church,  London,  has  a  very  valuable  book  in  his  Produc- 
"Choir-Training  Based  on  Voice  Production."  Madeiey' 
It  covers  the  whole  field  of  choir  music  and  is 
written   in   an   incisive   and  clear   style.     The 
same    author's    book    on    "Church    Music"    in 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.'s  "Hand-books  for  the 
Clergy,"  takes  up  the  whole  question  of  Church 
music  in  a  most  interesting  and  vigorous  man- 
ner.    Richardson  is  a  modern  of  the  moderns, 
and   his    book   will   be   especially   enjoyed   by 
those  who  have  no  sympathy  with  Gregorian 
chants,  plainsong  hymn  tunes,  or  Palestrina  mo- 
tettes,  subjects  which  he  treats  with  scant  cour- 
tesy. 

J.  S.  Spencer  Curwen,  the  great  "tonic  sol- 


218 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


"The  Boy 
Voice." 
J.  S.  S. 
Curwen. 


'  'Hints  on 

Boy-Choir 

Training." 

G.E. 

Stubbs. 


•  'In  the 
Choir- 
room." 
Walter 
Henry 
Hall. 


"Clergy 
and  Choir." 
Rev.  Charles 
B.  Hodge. 


faist,"  has  a  book  entitled  "The  Boy  Voice" 
which  is  sort  of  a  compendium  on  the  subject, 
as  it  has  contributions  from  a  number  of  noted 
choirmasters.  In  this  country  the  most  widely 
known  and  popular  book  is  "Hints  on  Boy- 
Choir  Training,"  by  Dr.  G.  E.  Stubbs,  organist 
and  choirmaster  of  St.  Agnes'  Chapel,  Trinity 
Parish,  I^ew  York.  Dr.  Stubbs  is  one  of  the  best 
known  and  best  equipped  writers  on  Church 
music  and  has  charge  of  the  Ecclesiastical  De- 
partment of  the  "New  Music  Keview."  His 
book  is  eminently  practical  and  displays  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  our  needs  in  boy-choir 
training.  The  book  has  passed  through  several 
editions. 

A  more  recent  work  and  one  also  capitally 
adapted  to  the  American  boy  in  the  American 
Church  is  "In  the  Choir-room,"  by  Walter 
Henry  Hall,  organist  and  choirmaster  of  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  'New  York 
City.  Like  all  true  choir  trainers,  Mr.  Hall  is 
a  specialist  in  tone  production,  and  he  gives 
many  practical  directions  in  developing  the  boy 
voice. 

"Clergy  and  Choir,"  by  the  Kev.  Charles  K. 
Hodge  of  New  Lenox,  111.,  is  a  book  of  rather 
more  extended  scope  as  it  also  considers  con- 
gregational singing,  mixed  choirs,  quartette 
choirs,  children's  music,  the  organ,  the  organ- 


Baden 
Powell. 


THE  VESTED  MALE  CHOIR  219 

ist,  etc.  It  is  interesting  and  gives  the  clergy- 
man's point  of  view. 

"Choralia,"    by    the    Kev.    James    Baden  I'Choraiia.' 

'  'J  ^  ReT.  James 

Powell,  is  a  most  readable  and  suggestive  book 
by  the  precentor  of  St.  Paul's,  Knightsbridge, 
London,  where  he  has  established  a  parochial 
service  noted  for  its  beauty  and  dignity.  Like 
Eichardson's  "Church  Music"  it  deals  with  the 
question  of  ecclesiastical  music  at  large  and  is 
not  essentially  a  manual  on  choir-training. 

While  this  bibliography*  of  the  subject  of 
vested  choirs  is  not  complete,  it  is  at  least  suf- 
llcient  to  show  that  the  subject  has  received 
careful  attention  at  the  hands  of  skilled  spe- 
cialists, and  that  no  one  interested  need  remain 
in  ignorance  regarding  the  most  approved  meth- 
ods of  forming  and  developing  boy  choirs.  But 
it  is  astonishing  how  uninformed  the  average 
choirmaster  is  concerning  his  own  business,  and 
how  he  prefers  his  own  happy-go-lucky  methods 
rather  than  to  profit  by  the  experience  and  sug- 
gestions of  men  who  have  made  a  pronounced 
success  of  their  work.  The  subject  is  important 
enough  to  demand  most  careful  thought  and 
study  both  on  the  part  of  the  priest  and  the 
choirmaster. 


*  For  additional  works  on  Vested  Choirs  see  Bibliography 
in  the  Appendix. 


VI. 


Plainsong 
an  artistic 
product. 


Origin  of 
plainsong. 


The  Development  of  Music  in  the 
Anglican  Chukcii. 

It  is  not  generally  known,  even  among  peo- 
ple interested  in  music,  that  a  highly  developed 
system  of  Church  music  existed  before  the 
twelfth  century,  a  system  not  only  complete  and 
perfect  in  itself,  but  capable  of  great  expres- 
siveness. Moreover  it  is  the  only  system  that 
has  ever  been  formally  adopted  by  the  Church 
and  prescribed  as  the  authentic  musical  setting 
to  its  Liturgy.  Yet  this  is  the  case  and  the 
so-called  "plainsong"  of  the  early  Church,  far 
from  being  the  crude  beginnings  of  modern 
music,  or  a  worn-out  and  discarded  art  form, 
remains  to-day  a  complete  entity  in  itself,  full 
of  vital  force  and  meaning  to  those  who  seriously 
study  and  adequately  comprehend  it. 

The  Liturgy  of  the  Church  was  originally 
conceived  for  musical  expression  and  was  al- 
ways intended  to  be  sung.  It  appropriated  the 
musical  idiom  of  its  day  and  generation,  an 
idiom  derived  from  the  complicated  system  of 
Greek  scales  with  perhaps  traces  of  the  tradi- 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  221 

tional  Temple  music  of  the  Hebrews.  Out  of 
this  material  grew  the  system  variously  known 
as  plainsong,  plain  chant,  Gregorian  chant,  or 
Gregorian  tones.  As  has  been  already  stated,  scales, 
the  Greek  scales  or  modes  which  formed  the 
basis  of  plainsong  were  originally  four  in 
number:  the  Dorian,  the  Phrygian,  the  Ly- 
dian,  and  the  Mixo-Lydian.  These  scales  cor- 
respond to  a  conjunct  series  of  white  notes 
on  the  piano  beginning  with  D,  E,  F,  and 
G,  respectively.  If  a  melody  confined  itself  to 
any  one  of  these  scales  and  did  not  exceed  its 
keynote  more  than  one  adjacent  note  at  either 
end,  it  was  in  the  "authentic"  mode  of  its  series. 
For  example,  America  is  an  authentic  mode  for  ^od^!^***^ 
its  melody  lies  within  the  octave  of  its  keynote 
with  the  exception  of  the  fourth  note,  which  is 
immediately  below  the  key  note  or  "final." 
Later  four  collateral  or  "plagal"  modes  were  ^^^^l 
developed,  each  of  which  was  founded  upon  an 
authentic  scale  but  began  and  ended  a  fourth 
lower  but  retained  the  same  "final"  las  the 
scale  from  which  it  was  derived.  Thus  Old 
Hundred  is  in  a  plagal  mode,  for  its  range  ex- 
tends four  notes  below  and  five  notes  above  its 
"final,"  the  latter  appearing  as  the  central  note 
of  the  melody,  rather  than  its  highest  or  lowest 
note.  Tradition  ascribes  the  authentic  modes 
to  St.  Ambrose  and  the  plagal  modes  to  St.  st.  Ambrose. 
Gregory.     In  any  event  St.  Gregory  collected   st.  Gregory. 


222 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


The  Anti- 
phonarium. 


Present 
major  and 
minor 
scales  the 
last  to  be 
developed. 


Gregorian 
chants  but 
small  part 
of  plain- 
song. 


the  various  chants  then  in  use,  systematized 
them  in  an  authoritative  volume  called  the 
"Antiphonarium/'  and  established  singing 
schools  for  instruction  in  their  proper  perform- 
ance. Thus  his  name  became  inseparably  con- 
nected with  plainsong  chants.^ 

Our  modern  major  and  minor  scales  ap- 
peared later  in  two  additional  modes  known  as 
the  Ionian  and  the  ^olian,  respectively. 
America  is  thus  Ionian  and  Old  Hundred 
Hypo-Ionian.  The  plainsong  tune  to  "Come, 
Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire"  is  Mixo-Lydian, 
while  "O  come,  O  come,  Emmanuel"  is  Dorian." 
The  Gregorian  chants  as  known  in  the  An- 
glican Church  are  but  a  very  small  part  of  the 
plainsong  system.  Their  use  is  confined  to 
the  psalms  and  canticles.  There  are  in  addi- 
tion most  elaborate  settings  of  the  usual  Mass 
numbers  as  well  as  for  the  variable  Introits, 
Graduales,   Offertories,    Sequences,   etc.     Each 


1  The  plagal  modes  received  the  prefix  "hypo."  Conse- 
quently the  Hypo-Dorian  scale  began  on  A  but  had  its  final 
on  D ;  the  Hypo-Phrygian  on  B  with  its  final  on  E,  etc. 
If  America  is  played  beginning  on  D  and  nothing  but  the 
white  notes  employed,  it  will  be  in  the  authentic  Dorian 
mode.  If  the  same  process  is  pursued  with  Old  Hundred 
the  plagal  Hypo-Dorian  mode  will  result.  If  the  same 
tunes  are  begun  in  E.  the  two  Phrygian  modes  will  be  heard, 
if  on  F  the  two  Lydian,  if  on  G  the  two  Mixo-Lydian.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  white  notes  are  alone  to  be 
played.  Experiments  with  these  well-known  melodies  will 
at  once  impress  the  listener  with  the  radical  difference  be- 
tween the  modern  major  scale  and  the  ancient  ecclesiastical 
modes. 

2  This  latter  melody  is  really  ^olian,  but  the  Dorian 
mode  was  later  modified  by  lowering  the  sixth  note  of  the 
scale,  which  made  it  agree  with  the  iEolian  in  the  order  of 
its  steps  and  half-steps. 


ANGLICAN  CBURCB  MV8IC 


223 


Mass  number  had  its  proper  mode,  but  the  tune 
varied  for  the  different  Church  seasons/  It  is 
claimed  that  to  have  a  command  of  plainsong 
melodies  for  all  the  offices  of  the  Koman  Church 
one  must  know  at  least  a  thousand  tunes,  no 
two  of  which  are  exactly  alike.  Many  of  these  pecuuarities 
melodies  are  of  great  charm  and  beauty  and  song, 
owe  much  of  their  attractiveness  to  the  habit  of 
singing  melodic  phrases  to  a  single  syllable. 
These  groups  of  notes  were  known  variously  as 
ligatures,  perieleses,  melismas,  or  jubilations. 
A  German  writer  thus  comments  upon  the  in- 
ner essence  of  this  ancient  art : 


No  need 
of  accom- 
paniment. 


"In  the  Middle  Ages  nothing  was  known  of 
accompaniment ;  there  was  not  the  slightest  need 
of  one.  The  substance  of  the  musical  content, 
which  we  to-day  commit  to  interpretation 
through  harmony,  the  old  musicians  laid  on 
melody.  The  latter  accomplished  in  itself  the 
complete  utterance  of  the  artistically-aroused 
fantasy.  In  this  particular  the  melismas,  which  Melismas. 
carry  the  extensions  of  the  tones  of  the  melody, 
are  a  necessary  means  of  presentation  in  medie- 
val art;  they  proceed  logically  out  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  unison  melody.     Text  repetition  is 


3  The  following  names  were  given  to  the  eight  original 
Gregorian  modes  as  indicative  of  their  esthetic  content : 
First  Mode   (Dorian)    "Modus  Gravis." 
Second  Mode   (Hypo-Dorian)   "Modus  Tristis," 
Third  Mode   (Phrygian)    "Modus  Mysticus." 
Fourth    Mode    (Hypo-Phrygian)    "Modus    Harmonicus." 
Fifth  Mode   (Lydian)    "Modus  Laetus." 
Sixth  Mode    (Hypo-Lydian)    "Modus  Devotus." 
Seventh  Mode   (Mixo-Lydian)   "Modus  Angelicus." 
Eighth  Mode   (Hypo-Mixo-Lydian)    "Modus  Perfectus." 


224 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


No  text 
repetition. 


Fneumae. 


Flainsong 
in  England. 
St.  Augus- 
tine (596). 


Adopted  by 
York  and 
Canterbury. 


unknown.  While  modern  singers  repeat  an  es- 
pecially emphatic  thought  or  word,  the  old  melo- 
dists repeat  a  melody  or  phrase  which  expresses 
the  ground  mood  of  the  texts  in  a  striking  man- 
ner. And  they  not  only  repeat  it,  but  they 
make  it  unfold,  and  draw  out  of  it  new  tones  of 
melody.  This  method  is  certainly  not  less  artis- 
tic than  the  later  text  repetition,  it  comes  nearer, 
also,  to  the  natural  expression  of  the  devotion- 
ally  inspired  heart." 

I^ot  only  were  the  melismas  referred  to  in 
the  above  quotation  employed,  but  echoing 
phrases  to  inarticulate  sounds  were  added  called 
pneumae.  These  ornate  phrases  are  extremely 
difficult  to  sing  and  require  long  training. 
Schools  were  established  as  early  as  the  fourth 
century  under  St.  Sylvester,  and  certain  monas- 
teries, notably  that  at  St.  Gall,  Switzerland, 
were  noted  for  their  expertness  both  in  singing 
and  teaching  this  difficult  art. 

This  was  the  musical  system  that  St.  Augus- 
tine carried  to  England  in  the  year  596  at  the 
behest  of  Gregory  the  Great,  although  he  was 
cautioned  not  to  insist  upon  the  Roman  use 
should  it  be  objected  to  in  the  older  British 
churches.  However,  it  was  adopted  by  York 
and  Canterbury  and  soon  spread  to  other  local- 
ities. As  was  the  case  on  the  continent,  the 
authentic  melodies  as  found  in  the  Antiphon- 
arium  established  by  Gregory  became  corrupted 
and  many  local  ^^uses''  came  into  vogue.     Of 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  225 

these  the  Saruin  or  Salisbury  Use  was  of  great  sarumuse. 
beauty    despite    its    unauthenticity,    and    later 
was    considered    as     a    model    for    Anglican 
churches.     As  soon  as  Roman  supremacy  was 
throTVTi  off  and  the  use  of  the  Latin  tongue  dis- 
pensed with,  the  ancient  plainsong  was  adapted 
to  the  vernacular.     The  first  part  of  the  Eng- 
lish service  to  appear  in  print  was  the  Litany,    cranmer's 
translated    by    Archbishop    Cranmer    and    ar- 
ranged   to    its    traditional    plainsong    melody. 
This  was  in  1544.     In  1550   John  Merbecke  John 
(or  Marbecke)  published  his  famous  ^'Booke  of    (1550). 
Common  Praier  ^N'oted/'  which  was  an  adapta- 
tion of  the  plainsong  of  the  earlier  rituals  to 
the  first  liturgy  of  Edward  YI.     Bumpus  in 
his  "English  Cathedral  Music"  thus  speaks  of 
the  work: 

"This,  the  earliest  choral  book  our  Church 
possesses,  was  not  merely  a  Directory  for  the 
performance  of  Matins  and  Evensong,  but  it 
also  contained  the  office  of  the  Holy  Communion 
and  that  of  the  Burial  of  the  Dead.  It  was 
noted  throughout  for  priest  and  people.  Thus 
it  supplied  a  deficiency  sure  to  be  felt  through- 
out the  country  on  the  substitution  of  the  Eng- 
lish for  the  Latin  rite.  It  is  not  easy  to  dis- 
cover the  precise  extent  to  which  Merbecke's 
book  was  used  in  the  English  Cathedral  service 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Primarily  intended  for  the  use  of  the  Chapel 
Royal,  it  constituted  a  model  for  the  whole  coun- 
try, and  its  adoption   as  the  authentic  choral 


226 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Merbecke's 
the  standard 
plainsong 
service. 


Harmonized 
versions. 


Beginnings 
of  part 
writing. 


book  of  the  Churcli — not  only  for  choirs,  but 
also  for  congregations — is  placed  beyond  all 
doubt.  Based  musically  upon  the  Use  of  Sarum, 
it  formed  a  complete  '  antiphonarium'  for  the 
reformed  liturgy." 

This  first  edition  of  Merbecke  was  not  har- 
monized, the  plainsong  being  alone  printed  on 
the  old  four-line  stave.  In  1844  William 
Pickering  of  London  printed  a  beautiful  fac- 
simile with  its  rubricated  staves,  diamond- 
headed  notes,  black-letter  type,  and  ample  mar- 
gins. 

Merbecke's  adaptation  of  the  plainsong  to 
the  English  text  was  done  so  thoroughly  and 
Avell  that  it  has  remained  to  this  day  unchanged 
and  has  always  been  the  standard  plainsong  ser- 
vice. In  recent  years  both  John  Stainer  and 
Basil  Harwood  have  edited  Merbecke  with  har- 
monies, and  its  sturdy,  manly  music  is  winning 
the  recognition  it  deserves.  The  Nicene  Creed 
is  especially  fine  and  is  particularly  suitable 
for  Advent  and  Lent. 

In  the  meantime  the  art  of  counterpoint 
and  of  harmony  had  made  considerable  ad- 
vancement. Composers  sought  to  put  several 
melodies  together  and  in  course  of  time  masses 
appeared  in  two,  four,  six,  eight,  twelve  and 
even  in  forty  parts,  some  of  them  masterpieces 
of  musical  ingenuity,  far  surpassing  in  this 
respect  the  efforts  of  modern  writers. 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  227 

At  times  composers  would  develop  the  mu-  contrapun- 

.  ^        .  tal  masses. 

sic  for  the  entire  mass  from  a  single  plainsong 
melody  or  cantus  firmus,  as  it  was  called.  In 
this  case  the  mass  would  take  its  name  from 
the  melody  in  question  and  we  would  have  the 
Missa,  ''Veni,  8ponsa  Christi/'  ''Tu  es  Petrus/' 
etc.,  as  the  case  might  be.  Occasionally  the  mu- 
sical subject  would  be  borrowed  from  secular 
sources,  and  not  always  of  the  most  commend- 
able nature.  Thus  we  have  the  mass  of  the 
"Armed  Man"  and  the  mass  of  the  "Ked 
looses.'' 

In  1560  a  book  was  published  by  John  Day  john  Day's 
with  the  following  title:  allT.""' 

"Certaine  Notes  set  forthe  in  foure  and  three 
partes,  to  be  song  at  Mornyng,  Communion,  and 
Evenyng  Praier,  very  necessarie  for  the  Church 
of  Christe  to  be  frequented  and  used:  and  unto 
them  be  added  divers  Godly  Praiers  and  psalms 
in  the  like  forme  to  the  honour  and  prayse  of 
God.  Imprinted  at  London,  over  Aldersgate, 
beneath  St.  Martin's,  by  John  Day." 

These  compositions  were  in  the  contrapun-  contrapun- 
tal style,  a  style  which  is  of  far  more  artistic  *^^™"^^*'- 
merit  than  the  ordinary  church  music  of  to- 
day. Instead  of  a  pleasing  melody  in  the  so- 
prano to  which  the  other  parts  supply  agreeable 
harmonies,  the  contrapuntal  style  endeavors  to 
have  each  voice  part  of  equal  importance  and 
melodic  beauty,  so  that  we  have  a  combination 
of    independent    melodies,    harmonizing    with 


228 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Thomas 
TaUis 
(1520- 
1585). 


TalUs' 
Besponses. 


Tallis'  great 
gifts  as  a 
composer. 


each  other  and  welded  into  a  complete  whole. 
This  style  of  music  was  also  supplied  to  the 
Motette,  which  later  developed  into  the  An- 
them.* 

To  this  period  belongs  Thomas  Tallis,  the 
first  English  Church  composer  of  note.  He  is 
known  principally  by  his  Versicles  and  Respon- 
ses and  his  Litany,  which  are  in  general  use  to- 
day throughout  the  Anglican  communion.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  their  devout  and  churchly 
strains  may  never  cease,  for  they  link  us  di- 
rectly with  the  earliest  days  of  our  Prayer 
Book  and  lay  stress  upon  our  historic  continu- 
ity. 

Tallis  made  use  of  the  traditional  plainsong 
melodies  in  his  Versicles  and  Responses  and 
harmonized  them  in  a  masterful  manner.  It  is 
a  matter  of  dispute  whether  the  harmonization 
was  originally  in  four  or  five  parts.  In  this 
country  we  are  accustomed  to  a  four  part  ver- 
sion while  in  England  they  arc  generally  sung 
in  five  parts.' 

Tallis'  reputation  as  the  greatest  composer 


*  The  term  Motette  was  first  confined  to  unaccompanied 
sacred  music  with  Latin  text,  the  latter  being  neither  a 
canticle  or  a  Mass  number. 

5  While  on  the  subject  of  the  choral  service  it  might  be 
added  that  unless  a  priest  is  available  who  can  sing  his 
part  in  an  acceptable  manner,  it  is  best  dispensed  with. 
If  the  intoning  is  out  of  tune  or  performed  inaccurately  or 
inadequately  it  is  distressing  in  the  extreme.  To  have  the 
priest's  part  read  and  the  responses  sung  is  equally  repre- 
hensible. It  is  but  patchwork  at  best  and  serves  no  pur- 
pose whatever. 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH   MUSIC  229 

of  his  day,  however,  does  not  rest  upon  his  har- 
monization of  the  responses,  but  upon  a  large 
number  of  masses,  motettes,  and  anthems,  com- 
positions that  are  preeminently  musical  and 
scholarly  and  which  command  the  respect  of 
musicians  of  all  time.  Like  most  musicians  of 
that  epoch,  Tallis  changed  his  religion  to  suit 
that  of  the  Crown,  writing  with  equal  facility 
masses  and  motettes  for  the  Roman  service  or 
communion  services  and  anthems  for  the  Angli- 
can. But  as  he  largely  favored  the  Latin  text 
it  would  seem  that  at  heart  he  was  a  Roman 
Catholic.      The  most   remarkable   specimen  of 

m     IT     1  1       1    -n     •       1    •       <r<rr>t  •         "n  Tallis'  Soag 

lallis   contrapuntal  skill  is  his     bong  m  Jborty   in  forty 
Parts,"  which  was  written  for  eight  choirs  of 
five  parts  each.    Davey  in  his  "History  of  Eng- 
lish Music"  comments  as  follows  upon  this  ex- 
traordinary tour  de  force : 

"Every  earnest  student  should  thoroughly  ex- 
amine this  work,  noting  how  the  themes  are 
fugued  through  the  choirs,  how  the  various  sec- 
tions of  the  great  choral  body  are  employed  anti- 
phonally,  how  long-sustained  harmonies  are  oc- 
casionally varied  by  quickly  changing  succes- 
sions of  chords,  and  how  imposing  an  effect  is 
produced  by  the  two  rests  for  all  the  voices,  es- 
pecially the  one  before  the  last  clause,  when 
thirteen  of  the  voices  stop  in  the  chord  of  C, 
and,  after  a  minim  rest,  all  the  forty  enter  on 
the  chord  of  A.  Everything  an  unaccompanied 
choir  can  do  is  required  in  this  masterpiece  of 
the  polyphonic  style." 


parts. 


230 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Bichard 
Farrant 
(circa 
1664). 


Venetian 
tribute  to 
English 
music. 


WiUiam 
Byrd 
(1558- 
1623). 


Richard  Farrant  was  a  contemporary  of 
Tallis  and  a  man  of  real  talent.  Several  of  his 
anthems  are  still  in  use  in  the  English  Cathe- 
drals, and  are  sung  occasionally  in  this  coun- 
try. The  anthem,  "Lord,  for  Thy  tender  mer- 
cies' sake,"  is  the  most  popular,  but  its  authen- 
ticity is  seriously  questioned — experts  assign- 
ing it  to  a  much  later  period  than  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century. 

A  Venetian  ambassador  at  the  Court  of 
Henry  VIII.  wrote  as  follows  concerning  Eng- 
lish Church  music  at  this  period:  "The  mass 
was  sung  by  His  Majesty's  choristers,  whose 
voices  were  more  divine  than  human.  They  did 
not  chant  like  men,  but  gave  praise  like  angels." 

Thus  early  was  the  supremacy  of  Anglican 
art  recognized  and  acknowledged. 

William  Byrd  and  Orlando  Gibbons  were 
worthy  successors  to  Tallis  and  Farrant  and 
they  added  greatly  to  the  fame  of  English  mu- 
sic. Byrd,  who  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  wrote 
mostly  to  Latin  texts  and  many  of  his  motettes 
have  since  been  arranged  to  English  words.  He 
left  a  legacy  of  fifty-four  anthems  and  the  fol- 
lowing quaint  defence  of  the  art  of  singing: 

1.  It  is  a  knowledge  easily  taught  and 
quickly  learned,  where  there  is  a  good  master 
and  an  apt  scoller. 

2.  The  exercise  of  singing  is  delightful  to 
nature,  and  good  to  preserve  the  health  of  man. 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  231 

3.  It  doth  strengthen  all  parts  of  the  breast 
and  doth  open  the  pipes. 

4.  It  is  a  singular  good  remedie  for  a  stut- 
tering and  stammering  in  the  speech. 

5.  It  is  the  best  means  to  procure  a  perfect 
pronunciation  and  to  make  a  good  orator. 

6.  It  is  the  only  way  to  find  out  where  na- 
ture hath  bestowed  the  benefit  of  a  good  voice. 

7.  Because  there  is  no  music  of  instruments 
whatever  to  be  compared  to  the  voyces  of  men, 
when  they  are  good,  well-sorted,  and  ordered. 

8.  The  better  the  voyce,  the  meeter  it  is  to 
honour  and  serve  God  therewith,  and  the  voyce 
of  man  is  chiefly  to  be  employed  to  that  end. 

"Since  singing  is  so  good  a  thing 
I  wish  all  men  would  learn  to  sing." 

Orlando  Gibbons  is  considered  one  of  the   oriando 

Gibbons 

best  of  England's  musicians,  and  he  is  fre-  (isss- 
quentlj  referred  to  as  the  English  Palestrina. 
Like  Byrd,  he  wrote  many  madrigals,  but  there 
was  little  distinction  made  between  the  sacred 
and  secular  styles  in  those  days  beyond  the  text. 
With  Gibbons,  who  was  a  Protestant,  the  habit 
of  writing  to  Latin  texts  largely  disappeared, 
and  a  new  era  in  church  music  set  in  which  is 
best  explained  by  the  following  quotation: 

"Gibbons,  as  it  were,  stood  at  the  parting  of 
the  ways.  Brought  up  with  the  strains  of  Tallis, 
Byrd,  Tye,  Merbecke,  and  other  worthies  of  the 
old  school  ringing  in  his  ears,  he  perceived  that 
another  world  of  music  was  opening:  emotion 
and  expression  were  destined  to  take  the  place 
of  orderly,  though  cold,  counterpoint.    This  new 


232 


MUSIC  ly  THE  CHURCH 


Decline  of 

music 
during  the 
CommoQ- 
wealtlL 


feeling  is  reflected  in  his  music,  sacred  and 
secular.  On  this  foundation  Gibbons  built 
up  a  series  of  noble  anthems,  different  from  any- 
thing that  had  appeared  before  his  time.  It  is 
exalted  music  that  flows  along  with  a  stately 
melody,  grand  in  its  sonorous  harmony,  and  im- 
pressive in  its  religious  solemnity." 

The  Festival  of  the  Three  Choirs,  which 
comprises  the  Cathedral  choirs  of  Gloucester, 
Worcester  and  Hereford,  frequently  makes  use 
of  Gibbons'  fine  anthems  to  this  day,  and  this 
is  true  of  a  number  of  other  important  musical 
gatherings.' 

The  flourishing  condition  of  English 
Church  music  suffered  a  serious  decline  during 
the  troublous  times  of  Charles  I.  and  of  the 
Commonwealth  under  Cromwell.  Political 
and  religious  dissensions  were  not  congenial  to 
the  gentler  arts,  and  many  composers  of  music 
forsook  the  pen  for  the  sword.  Under  the  fan- 
aticism of  the  Puritans  the  stately  Cathedrals 
were  disfigured  and  despoiled,  organs  and  val- 

*  There  was  a  curious  custom  In  those  days  of  collecting 
"spur  money"  from  any  person  entering  a  Cathedral  wear- 
ing spurs.  Their  jangling  was  supposed  to  interrupt  the 
service  and  choir-boys  were  permitted  to  extort  a  small  fee 
from  any  and  all  offenders.  Even  the  King  was  not  exempt 
from  it  as  entries  in  the  the  royal  expense  account  prove. 
The  boys,  doubtless  to  the  detriment  of  their  vocal  efforts, 
were  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  victims,  and  never  al- 
lowed them  to  escape.  On  one  occasion  the  boys  made  way 
with  a  recalcitrant's  hat,  and  on  complaint  to  a  magistrate 
the  boys  were  sustained  in  their  traditional  rights.  In 
some  places  the  victim  had  the  right  to  demand  that  the 
youngest  of  the  boys  sing  his  "gamut" — a  somewhat  compli- 
cated form  of  scale.  Upon  failure  no  '.spur  money"  could 
be  collected.  This  custom  obtained  as  late  as  1850  In  some 
of  the  Cathedrals. 


JLW€SJCA3^  caamcm  wmms 


Ae 


of 
lical 


nldmtafiaK 
InAednrt 


ideCkdnlnl 


JbtAe 
A 


of  Ae  HTjumb.'- 


-nee,' 


I  iBTC: 


r  jl: 
to 


))r  ± 


J.  rf 


1/ 


234  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

there  were  necessitated  to  supply  superior  parts 
of  the  music  with  cornets,  and  men's  feigned 
voices,  there  being  not  one  lad  for  all  that  time 
capable  of  singing  his  part  readily."^ 
Church  Under  the  influence  of  Charles  II.  music 

music  under 

Charles  II.  underwent  a  change  which,  at  the  time  could  be 
hardly  called  for  the  better,  but  which  eventu- 
ally proved  advantageous.  The  King  had  be- 
come accustomed  to  the  French  style  of  music 
during  his  exile,  and  Tudway,  the  historian, 
thus  comments  upon  the  then  state  of  affairs: 

"The  standard  of  Church  music  began  by 
Mr.  Tallis,  Mr.  Byrd,  etc.,  was  continued  for 
some  years  after  ye  Restauration,  and  all  Com- 
posers conformed  themselves  to  ye  Pattern 
which  was  set  by  them.  His  Majesty,  who  was 
a  brisk  and  airy  prince,  coming  to  ye  crown  in 
ye  flower  and  vigor  of  his  age,  was  soon,  if  I 
may  say  so,  tyred  with  ye  grave  and  solemn 
ways,  and  ordered  ye  Composers  of  his  Chapel 
to  add  symphonys,  etc.,  with  instruments  to  their 
anthems,  and  thereupon  established  a  select 
number  of  his  private  musick  to  play  ye  sym- 
phonys and  Ritornelles  which  he  had  appointed. 
The  king  did  not  intend  by  this  innovation  to 
alter  anything  of  the  established  way.  He  only 
appointed  this  to  be  done  when  he  came  himself 
to  ye  chappell  which  was  only  upon  Sundays,  on 
ye  mornings  of  ye  great  Festivals  and  Days  of 
Offerings.     The    old    masters,    viz..   Dr.    Child, 

^  The  cornet  was  a  reed  instrument  somewhat  like  the 
oboe,  though  coarser  in  tone,  and  not  the  familiar  brass 
band  instrument  of  the  present  day.  They  were  often  made 
of  wood  covered  with  leather.  Under  these  conditions  com- 
posers were  constrained  to  write  music  for  men's  voices 
alone  until  boys  could  be  properly  trained. 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC.  235 

Dr.  Gibbons,  and  Mr.  Lowe,  organists  to  His 
Majesty,  hardly  knew  how  to  comport  themselves 
with  these  new-fangled  ways,  but  proceeded  in 
their  compositions  according  to  ye  old  style,  and 
therefore  there  are  only  some  full  services  and 
anthems  of  theirs  to  be  found." 

A  Captain  Henry  Cook  was  made  master  of  ^^^^2)°^ 
the  children  of  the  Chapel  Koyal  after  the  Ees- 
toration   and   soon   succeeded   in  gathering  to- 
gether a  remarkably  gifted  set  of  young  choris- 
ters, some  of  whom  developed  into  the  greatest 
musicians  of  their  day.     One  of  the  most  tal-  Humphreyg 
ented  was  Pelham  Humphreys.     His  abilities   i674)i 
so  attracted  the  attention  of  the  King  that  he 
was  sent  to  Paris  to  study  with  the  great  Lulli, 
the  most  famous  of  the  early  French  composers. 
Humphreys,  who  was  but  twenty  when  he  re- 
turned from  an  extended  stay  in  Paris,  brought 
back  with  him  a  touch  of  the  French  style.    He 
introduced  the  declamatory  recitative,  an  Ital- 
ian device,  into  English  church  music,  and  also 
added  new  harmonies  to  the  English  stock  in 
trade.      John   Blow   was    another    of    Captain    (i648^  °^ 
Cook's  famous  boys  who  developed  into  a  good   ^'^°^>- 
composer.     In  the  music  both  of  Humphreys 
and  Blow  the  element  of  the  picturesque  and 
dramatic  came  more  to  the  fore  and  the  texts  to 
their  anthems  were  evidently  chosen  with  these 
qualities  in  view. 

The  anthems  of  the  earlier  composers,  taking  A^th^m" 


236  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

their  pattern  from  the  Latin  motette,  were  for 
the  full  choir  from  beginning  to  end,  and  if 
accompanied  by  the  organ,  the  latter  simply  du- 
plicated the  voice  parts.  The  taste  of  the  King 
led  to  a  freer  treatment  of  the  organ  part,  and 
preludes  and  interludes  were  added.  The  next 
development  was  the  breaking  up  of  the  full 
anthem  into  contrasting  sections  for  one,  two 
or  more  parts,  to  be  sung  either  by  solo  voices 
or  more  usually  by  one  side  of  the  choir.     This 

Anthem"*  was  known  as  the  "Verse  Anthem"  in  contradic- 
tion to  the  "Full  Anthem."  The  organ  was 
necessarily  an  integral  part  of  the  Verse  An- 
them for  it  supplied  the  verse  parts  with  proper 
accompaniment,  especially  when  there  were  not 
sufficient  parts  to  complete  the  harmony.  The 
instruments  used  in  addition  to  the  organ  were 
the  violins,  the  cornets  or  oboes,  and  the  sack- 
buts  or  trombones. 

Dr.  John  Blow  had  one  pupil  of  such  pre- 
eminent abilities  that  he  requested  to  have  the 

Henry  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^®  ^^^^  "Master  to  the  famous  Mr. 

Ti658-i695)  Henry  Purcell"  engraved  upon  his  tombstone. 
And  it  is  further  stated  that  he  resigned  his 
position  as  organist  of  Westminster  Abbey  that 
this  young  man,  then  twenty-two,  might  have 

Greatest        ^^^    post.      Henry   Purcell   was   not   only   the 

musician  of  greatest  of  English  composers  but  the  greatest 
musician  of  his  age,  not  excepting  Lulli  in 
France  or  Scarlatti  in  Italy.    Germany  had  not 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  237 

as  yet  produced  a  really  great  composer,  as  the 
mighty  Johann  Sebastian  Bach  was  not  born 
until  1685,  twenty-seven  years  after  Purcell's 
birth. 

Purcell  was  also  one  of  Captain  Cook's 
boys,  and  upon  his  death  Purcell  came  under 
the  charge  of  Pelham  Humphreys,  and  upon 
the  demise  of  that  talented  man  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-seven.  Dr.  Blow  became  his 
master.  Purcell  wrote  no  less  than  107  anthems  Anthems, 
(besides  many  services  and  much  secular  mu- 
sic), works  full  of  strength,  dignity,  breadth, 
and  expressiveness.  He  brought  to  perfection 
the  "verse"  or  "solo"  anthem.  He  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  the  French  tastes  of  the  King  and 
declared  himself 

"to  lean  towards  a  just  imitation  of  the  most  fa- 
mous Italian  masters,  principally  to  bring  the 
seriousness  and  gravity  of  that  sort  of  music 
into  vogue  and  reputation  amongst  our  country- 
men, whose  humours  it  is  time  now  should  be- 
gin to  loathe  the  levity  and  balladry  of  our 
neighbours,  the  French." 

ISTone  of  Purcell's  music  was  published  dur-  p^rceu  un- 
ing  his  lifetime  and  his  great  gifts  were  but  lit-   appreciated, 
tie  appreciated.     In  fact  up  to  1828,  when  Yin-  vincent 
cent  ^ovello  began  to  publish  four  quarto  vol-   NoreUo. 
umes  of  Purcell's  music,  but  a  dozen  anthems 
were  kno^Ti  to  exist  in  print.     In  1836  a  body 
of  professional  and  amateur  musicians  formed 
a  Purcell  Club  to  study  and  perform  his  works,   purceu  ciub. 


238  MU8IC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

This  club  gave  annually  at  Westminster  Abbey 
a  morning  and  an  afternoon  service  devoted  to 
Purcell's  works,  and,  after  a  dinner,  a  perform- 
ance of  his  secular  compositions  in  the  evening. 
These  meetings  reached  their  climax  in  1858, 
the  bicentenary  of  Purcell's  birth,  when  a 
grand  commemoration  was  held,  attended  by  a 
vast  number  of  musicians  and  others. 

Purcell  developed  the  bass  solo  to  its  full- 
est dignity  and  in  his  verse  anthems  he  treats 
the  chorus  parts  with  unusual  brevity,  but  they 
are  none  the  less  effective  in  their  grandeur  and 
straightforwardness.     Purcell  died  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-seven  and  was  interred  at  West- 
minster together  with   Tallis,   Gibbons,   Blow 
and  other  musical  worthies.     A  critic  in  1848 
thus  speaks  of  the  Purcell  celebration  that  year : 
"But  what  we  remark  with  the  greatest  pleas- 
ure is  the  strong  and  growing  passion  of  the 
public  for  his  works.     The  immense  crowd  of 
hearers  which  filled  all  the  open  avenues  of  the 
Abbey,   exhibiting  the   deepest  interest   in   the 
music,  afforded  testimony  to  the  progress  of  a 
composer  who  has  not  yet  resumed  his  true  po- 
sition.    The  latest  in  this  respect  is  the  greatest. 
Every    year's    experience    tends    to    show    that 
Handel  must  ultimately  make  way  for  Purcell, 
and  that  the  German  history  of  vocal  music, 
sacred  and  secular,  needs  certain  corrections  in 
favour  of  England." 

The  developments  of  sixty  years  have  hard- 
ly borne  out  the  hopes  expressed  by  the  above 


ANGLICAN  CBURCH  MUSIC  23d 

writer  as  far  as  popular  appreciation  is  con- 
cerned, but  Purcell  still  is  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  by  all  earnest  students  of  Church  music. 

After  Purcell,  who  died  in  1695,  there  was  Gradual 

,  .  .         decline  of 

a  gradual   decline   in   the   quality   of  English   Church 
church  compositions.     William  Croft,  to  whom  wiiiiam 
the   well-known    hymn-tune    St.    Anne    is    at-  ^ibtV 
tributed,  was,  however,  a  man  of  much  force   ^'^2'^^- 
and  left  a  list  of  nearly  100  anthems  behind 
him.    Croft  was  also  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Blow's  and 
well  schooled  in  the  dignified  Cathedral  style 
of  writing.     His  compositions  are  still  popular 
in  the  English  Cathedrals,  and  Sir  John  Stain- 
er  pays  the  following  tribute  to  his  morning 
service  in  the  key  of  A. 

"One  of  the  finest,  if  not  the  finest,  settings 
of  the  Te  Deum  and  Jubilate  to  which  the  Eng- 
lish Church  can  point  is  that  by  Croft  in  A. 
It  combines  a  suitable  variety  of  sentiment  with 
a  dignified  unity  as  a  whole;  and  while  in  turn 
it  is  plaintive,  penitential,  or  joyous,  it  bursts 
at  the  close  of  the  Gloria  to  the  Jubilate  into 
a  rich  Fugato,  highly  artistic  and  effective." 

Croft  also  wrote  a  fine  setting  to  the  musi- 
cal portions  of  the  burial  service  which  has 
been  in  constant  use  both  in  St.  Paul's  and  the 
Abbey. 

We  now  arrive  at  the  time  when  Handel  S®°5^®i  , 

Frederick 

came  to  England.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  Han-  ^^P^^^ 
del  spent  the  larger  part  of  his  artistic  career  in  i759). 
England  and  that  he  became  a  naturalized  citi- 


240 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Chandos 
anthems. 


Early 
criticisms 
of  Handel. 


Handel's 
plagiarisms. 


zen  in  1726  he  is  almost  claimed  as  an  English 
composer.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon 
the  abilities  of  this  great  genius,  upon  the 
sublime  qualities  of  his  oratorios,  or  upon  the 
commanding  position  he  assumed  among  Eng- 
lish musicians.  He  so  towered  above  his  con- 
temporaries that  their  efforts  seem  weak  and 
puny  in  comparison.  While  capellmeister  to 
the  Duke  of  Chandos  he  wrote  twelve  anthems 
on  a  grand  scale,  with  orchestral  accompani- 
ment, known  as  the  Chandos  anthems,  but  his 
oratorios  have  attained  such  popularity  that  lit- 
tle attention  is  paid  nowadays  to  his  other 
works. 

The  Eev.  William  Mason,  Precentor  of 
York  Minster,  thus  criticised  one  of  the  Chan- 
dos anthems  in  1782 : 

"Mr.  Handell  has  taken  more  liberty  with  the 
words  than  is  usually  done.  So  much  indeed  as 
might  lead  one  to  conclude  that  he  formed  the 
composition  out  of  his  musical  commonplace, 
and  adapted  words  to  airs  previously  invented, 
which  it  is  probable  enough  was  the  case,  not 
only  in  this,  but  in  many  of  his  later  produc- 
tions." 

This  criticism  is  not  without  warrant,  for 
Handel  not  only  transferred  themes  of  his  o^vn 
from  instrumental  pieces  or  operas  to  his  sacred 
works  but  he  appropriated  material  from  other 
composers  without  the  slightest  compunction. 
However,  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  developed 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  241 

these  stolen  ideas  in  a  marvelous  manner  and 
thus  rescued  them  from  oblivion.  Another  sub- 
ject of  criticism  was  his  use  of  the  orchestra, 
that  he  sacrificed  the  voices  and  melodic  charm 
for  the  sake  of  instrumental  effects.  This 
criticism  has  a  familiar  sound,  for  the  same 
fault  has  been  found  with  Beethoven  and  Wag- 
ner, and  it  will  continue  to  be  found  by  those 
who  look  upon  the  orchestra  as  a  mere  accom- 
paniment to  the  voices  and  not  an  added  means 
for  intensifying  the  general  effect. 

A  great  admirer  and  friend  of  Handel's  was  Maurice 

^         .  ,  Greene 

Dr.  Maurice  Greene,  organist  of  St .  Paul's  (i696- 
Cathedral.  Handel  would  frequently  attend 
the  afternoon  service  and  after  it  was  over  he 
and  Greene  would  lock  themselves  up  in  the 
church  and  Handel,  stripped  to  his  shirt,  would 
play  long  into  the  evening  on  the  fine  organ 
built  by  the  famous  Father  Smith.  The 
organ  contained  a  set  of  pedals,  a  rarity  at  that 
time. 

Greene  composed  anthems  of  no  little  merit,   Greene's 
adding  a  touch  of  the  German  and  Italian  man- 
ner.    Being  a  man  of  independent  means,  he 
had  an  ambition  to  collect  and  publish  in  full 
score  the  finest  specimens  of  English  Cathedral  Joyce's 
music,  much  of  which  was  only  in  manuscript  £^^1/;*^°°°^ 
and  sometimes  only  in  separate  voice  parts.   He   cathedral 
did  not  live  to  complete  his  task,  but  turned   wiiiiam 
over  his  material  to  Dr.  William  Boyce,  who   fmo-iTyg) 


242 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Church 
music  at 
low  ebb. 


Craze  for 
adaptations. 


Frivolous 
ItaUan 
music 
popular. 


published  three  notable  volumes  between  the 
years  1760  and  1768. 

Boyce  also  wrote  good  anthems,  one  espe- 
cially, ^'O,  where  shall  wisdom  be  found  ?"  being 
still  considered  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the  Ca- 
thedral style.  Boyce  died  in  1779  and  for  a 
period  of  about  forty  years  after  that  date 
Church  music  rapidly  deteriorated.  It  was  in 
the  days  of  the  fox-hunting  parsons,  when  reli- 
gious life  was  at  low  ebb  and  those  in  authority 
took  little  or  no  interest  in  music  and  made  no 
provision  for  its  proper  maintenance.  As  a  con- 
sequence the  dignified  and  stately  music  of  the 
Cathedral  school  was  neglected  and  the  new 
compositions  were  of  a  florid  and  frivolous  type, 
utterly  out  of  harmony  with  a  dignified  and 
reverent  service. 

A  craze  for  adaptations  and  arrangements 
set  in.  An  ingenious  Mr.  Bond  took  excerpts 
from  various  works  of  Handel's,  fitted  them  to 
new  texts  and  called  the  patchwork  an  anthem. 
Worse  still,  passages  from  various  composers  of 
different  nationalities  would  be  worked  over 
into  a  hodgepodge,  and  words  were  fitted  to  the 
music  in  the  most  careless  manner.  Italy  had 
fallen  from  its  high  estate  when  Palestrina 
wrote  his  marvelous  motettes  and  masses,  and 
Italian  composers  with  their  ear-tickling  and 
sensuous  melodies  became  immensely  popular 
in  England.    The  masses  of  the  Roman  Church 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  243 

were  drawn  upon,  not  to  be  used  in  translation 
in  the  Communion  service,  but  set  to  transla- 
tions utterly  at  variance  with  the  original  text. 
Masses  were  written,  and  bj  composers  of 
great  fame,  simply  as  show  pieces  of  music  and 
with  little  or  no  regard  to  the  sacredness  of  the 
words. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  the  music  of  elements  in 
Haydn,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  and  Schubert,  and,  mulic!^ 
a  little  later,  that  of  Schumann,  Chopin,  and 
Mendelssohn  became  known  in  England,  and 
this  knowledge  brought  new  elements  into  Eng- 
lish musical  life.  The  effectiveness  of  music 
had  gained  enormously  through  the  use  of  new 
and  bolder  harmonies,  greater  varieties  of 
rhythm,  and  more  complex  processes  of  develop- 
ment. The  spinet  and  clavichord  evolved  into 
the  harpsichord,  and  that  in  turn  into  the  piano- 
forte. Organs  were  immensely  improved,  both 
tonally  and  mechanically.  The  modern  orches- 
tra, developed  from  crude  beginnings,  arrived 
at  a  high  state  of  development.  Virtuosi,  both 
vocal  and  instrumental,  astounded  the  world 
with  their  marvelous  gifts.  The  Cathedral 
style  with  its  austere,  classic  dignity  and  im- 
passive grandeur  was  to  gain  a  richer  and 
warmer  color  and  to  speak  in  more  impassioned 
accents. 

Thomas  Atwood  was  the  first  English  com-  Atwood 
poser    to    be    materially    influenced    by    these   isss). 


244 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Mozart's 
influence. 


Felix  Men- 

delssohn- 

Bartholdy 

(1809- 

1847). 


Thomas 

Atwood 

Walmisley 

(1814- 

1856). 


changing  conditions  and  he  was  also  the  first 
composer  to  attempt  to  drag  England  out  of  its 
musical  slough  of  despond.  In  1783  he  went  to 
E'aples,  studying  with  a  local  teacher.  Two 
years  later  he  went  to  Vienna,  where  he  was  the 
pupil  and  the  close  friend  of  Mozart.  This 
graceful  and  poetic  master's  influence  is  plainly 
discernible  in  Atwood's  music,  for  it  is  notice- 
able for  its  clearness  and  delicacy  of  taste. 

Later  Atwood  became  an  intimate  friend  of 
Mendelssohn,  the  latter  spending  some  time  in 
Atwood's  home  in  the  suburbs  of  London,  while 
recovering  from  an  accident.  Atwood  was  or- 
ganist at  St.  Paul's  and  Mendelssohn,  like  Han- 
del before  him,  was  a  great  admirer  of  the 
Father  Smith  organ  and  would  spend  many 
hours  improvising  on  this  magnificent  instru- 
ment, playing  until  the  bellows  blowers  re- 
volted. 

Of  a  more  vigorous  talent  than  Thomas  At- 
wood's was  that  of  his  god-son,  Thomas  Atwood 
Walmisley,  a  composer  who  combined  the  dig- 
nity of  the  old  school  with  the  freedom  of  the 
new.  A  Magnificat  and  E'unc  Dimittis  of  his  in 
D  minor  is  well  known  on  both  sides  of  the  At- 
lantic and  the  somewhat  sombre  but  fine  setting 
is  especially  suitable  for  Advent  or  Lent. 

The  name  of  Wesley  is  quite  as  prominent 
in  the  musical  history  of  England  as  it  is  in  its 
religious  history.     Charles   Wesley,   the  great 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  245 

hymn  writer,  had  in  the  person  of  Samuel  Wes-  ^^^^^ 
ley  a  wonderfully  gifted  son.     He  was  born  in   [H^^' 
1766  and  at  the  age  of  four  he  could  play  and 
improvise  on  the  organ.     He  taught  himself  to 
read  and  write  at  the  age  of  ^ve  by  his  unre- 
mitting study  of  Handel's  oratorio  of  Samson,   J^JJJ>city. 
all  of  which  he  committed  to  memory.  Before  he 
was  eight  he  wrote  an  oratorio  which  he  called 
Ruth,  and  he  presented  the  same  to  Dr.  Boyce. 
Before  he  was  of  age  he  was  a  fine  classical 
scholar,   a  splendid  organist  and  pianist,   and 
the  most  brilliant  extempore  player  in  England,   f^ump^ro 
Wesley  wrote  much  for  the  Roman  Catholic  piay®'- 
service  and  was  thought  to  be  in  sympathy  with 
it   in  his   religious   beliefs.      This   he   denied, 
claiming  only  a  musical  interest  in  the  matter. 
He  was  extremely  fond  of  Gregorian  music  and 
said  the  greatest  treat  of  his  life  was  playing 
at  a  Gregorian  Requiem  when  fifty  priests  sang 
the  plainsong  while  he  improvised  the  harmon- 
ies.    Both  as  composer  and  performer  Wesley 
ranked  far  above  his  contemporaries  as  well  on  as  player 
the    continent    as    in    England.     One    of    his  JSJer?"' 
sons,   Samuel  Sebastian  Wesley,  inherited  his  samuei 
father's  talent  and  worthily  upheld  his  reputa-  wesiey*" 
tion.    At  the  age  of  seven  he  became  a  chorister   iJ?J)' 
in  the   Chapel  Royal  under  Hawes,   who   de- 
clared him  to  be  the  best  boy  who  ever  passed 
through  his  hands.    Despite  his  talents  (which 
received  general  recognition),  he  had  a  troubled 


246 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Solid  style 
of  organ 
playing. 


Gifts  as  a 
composer. 


life,  for  the  church  authorities  where  he  was  en- 
gaged cared  but  little  for  music  and  gave  Wes- 
ley scant  opportunity  to  exercise  his  gifts.  Al- 
though he  had  several  Cathedral  positions,  it 
was  only  while  he  was  organist  at  Leeds  Parish 
Church  that  he  received  substantial  and  sympa- 
thetic support.  Like  his  father,  he  was  a  fa- 
mous organist,  and  very  gifted  in  improvisa- 
tion. He  set  the  pattern  for  a  solid,  noble  style 
of  organ  playing  that  has  since  placed  England 
in  the  forefront  as  a  country  of  fine  organists. 
As  a  composer  of  sacred  music  he  ranked  with 
Spohr  and  Mendelssohn,  and  his  anthem  "The 
Wilderness"  is  considered  a  model  in  all  re- 
spects. To  a  greater  extent  than  Atwood,  his 
music  shows  the  influence  of  continental  music, 
and  the  severity  of  the  Cathedral  style  is  tem- 
pered by  warmth  of  feeling  and  a  picturesque 
imagination.  Dr.  Sparks,  the  well-known  or- 
ganist, thus  speaks  of  the  first  performance  of 
"The  Wilderness" : 

"Well  do  I  remember  the  first  rehearsal  by  the 
Exeter  choir  of  The  Wilderness,  the  astonish- 
ment and  delight  of  the  vicars  choral  with 
its  rich  and  wonderful  modulations,  its  deep  re- 
ligious fervor,  its  difficulties  and  grand  effects. 
As  one  of  the  choir  boys  taking  part  in  the 
lovely  quartette  at  the  end,  'And  sorrow  and 
sighing  shall  flee  away,'  I  was  greatly  inter- 
ested, and  remember  to  this  day  the  deep  emo- 
tion which  this  inspiration  awoke  in  me.     If 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MU8I0  247 

possible,  a  still  greater  delight  was  afforded  the 
choristers  when  they  were  taught  to  sing  the 
fresh,  responsive  duet,  ^See  that  ye  love  one 
another,'  which  forms  part  of  the  fine  anthem 
'Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father.' " 

This  last  mentioned  work  was  written  when 
internal  troubles  in  the  Church  left  Wesley 
with  but  one  bass  singer  and  the  boys  for  Sun- 
day duty,  and  for  this  sadly  unbalanced  collec- 
tion of  voices  he  wrote  an  anthem  full  of  force 
and  beauty. 

With  the  Wesleys  English  Church  music  re-   church 
covered  from  its  lethargy  and  since  that  time  ^^^  ^' 
England  has  had  an  unbroken  chain  of  fine 
church  composers,   men  of  splendid  technical 
equipment,   of  reverent   attitude  toward  their  johnGoss 
work,  and  of  expressive  artistic  powers.     John   isso)! 
Goss  nobly  upheld  the  new  school  of  writing 
and  enriched  the  stock  of  anthems  with  many 
fine  specimens.     His  setting  of  ^^The  Wilder- 
ness"  vies   with   Wesley's   in   popularity    and 
power,  and  his  little  anthem,  ^^0  Saviour  of  the 
world,"  has  touched  a  multitude  of  hearts  with 
its  quiet  beauty  and  deep  religious  feeling.    Of 
similar  calibre  was  Henry  Smart,  whose  ster-  f^^^ 
ling  service  in  F  has  found  universal  acceptance   dsis- 
by  reason  of  its  honest,  solid,  and  effective  qual- 
ities.    The  Te  Deum  from  this  service  is  per-  George 

1  •Till  1  •  Alexander 

naps  more  widely  used  than  any  other  settmg.   Macfarren 
Macfarren,  Sterndale  Bennett,  and  Elvey  are   iss?)" 


248 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


William 
Sterndale 
Bennett 
(1816- 
1875). 
George  Job 
Elvey  (1816- 
1893). 


Joseph 
Barnby 
(1838- 
1896). 


Character- 
istics. 


other  writers  of  this  school  and  they  each  pos- 
sess good,  if  not  preeminent,  qualities. 

We  now  reach  two  very  prominent  names  of 
modern  times  and  their  possessors  have  each 
had  a  widespread  influence,  although  their 
styles  are  very  different.  The  names  are  Joseph 
Barnby  and  John  Stainer.  In  the  lecture  on 
hymn  tunes  the  relative  abilities  and  the  char- 
acteristics of  these  two  men  were  dwelt  upon 
at  some  length.  Barnby  strenuously  objected  to 
model  his  work  after  that  of  his  predecessors 
and  claimed  the  right  to  express  his  thoughts  in 
his  own  idiom,  unhampered  by  tradition.  This 
he  did  in  a  striking  way  and  his  hymns,  an- 
thems, and  services  soon  won  immense  popu- 
larity, although  they  were  severely  criticised  by 
the  more  conservative  members  of  the  profes- 
sion. Barnby  delights  in  rich  chromatic  har- 
monies and  in  his  choral  works  he  borrows 
from  the  modern  German  part-song  and  the  ro- 
mantic school  of  instrumental  music.  There  is 
a  sensuous  beauty  about  his  compositions  and 
a  glow  of  color  that  is  very  fascinating,  and 
when  one  is  under  the  spell  of  it,  it  is  difficult 
to  judge  aright  of  its  real  value.  But  Barnby 
has  the  faults  of  his  virtues  and  his  excessive 
use  of  harmonic  color  is  more  or  less  at  the  ex- 
pense of  solidity  and  real  wearing  qualities. 
His  music  is  at  times  almost  cloying  in  its  rich- 
ness, but  despite  this  fact  we  would  be  loth 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  249 

to  part  with  most  of  his  music,  for  many  of  his 
compositions  are  of  unquestionable  worth. 

Stainer  represents  qualities  of  a  different  ^Jg^o^.**^^" 
type.  While  by  no  means  imitative,  his  music  i90i). 
in  a  manner  is  a  logical  evolution  from  that  of 
the  Wesleys,  Goss,  and  Smart.  It  is  essen- 
tially sane,  solid  and  well-balanced,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  is  full  of  imagination  and  expres- 
siveness. He  was  particularly  happy  in  select- 
ing graphic  texts  and  used  plenty  of  words, 
thus  avoiding  vain  repetitions — a  glaring  fault 
in  some  of  his  predecessors.  One  always  feels 
the  note  of  sincerity  in  his  music,  and  the  ear- 
nest desire  to  enhance  the  meaning  of  the  text 
and  the  avoidance  of  effect  for  the  mere  sake  of 
effect.  His  "Crucifixion''  is  a  remarkable  ex-  JJiJciflxion. 
ample  of  his  ability  to  move  and  impress  his 
auditors  with  very  simple  means — and  it  stands 
quite  unequalled  in  this  respect. 

Stainer  never  attempted  a  task  beyond  his 
powers  and  contented  himself  with  Church 
music,  for  which  he  had  the  greatest  love  and 
reverence.  Since  Goss'  "O  Saviour  of  the 
world,"  no  such  simple  example  of  pure  religious 
musical  expression  has  come  to  us  as  Stainer's 
"God  so  loved  the  world."  It  was  most  fittingly 
sung  at  the  unveiling  of  a  memorial  tablet  in 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in  commemoration  of 
Stainer's  great  work  in  rehabilitating  the  music 


250 


MV8IC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Arthur 

Seymour 

Sullivan 

(1842- 

1900). 


John  E. 

West 

(1683—). 

Charles 

ViUiers 

Stanford 

(1852—). 

George 

Clement 

Martin 

(1844—). 


Modern 
tsuduncies. 


in  that  famous  fane,  and  it  deeply  moved  the 
hearts  of  all  those  present  on  that  occasion. 

Arthur  Seymour  Sullivan  also  deserves  a 
place  among  the  notables  of  English  Church  mu- 
sic, although  with  him  it  was  not  a  subject  that 
absorbed  his  entire  or  perhaps  his  best  atten- 
tion. He  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  valu- 
ble  faculty  of  writing  effectively  for  voices  and 
always  avoided  unnecessary  difficulties.  His 
music  is  most  melodious  and  singable,  but  one 
is  at  times  inclined  to  feel  that  the  music  is  of 
more  consequence  than  the  text,  and  when  such 
is  the  case  it  removes  the  composer  from  the 
first  rank  of  excellence. 

These  three  prominent  exponents  of  modern 
Anglican  Church  music  have  been  succeeded  by 
a  host  of  younger  men,  many  of  whom  have 
marked  talent.  Such  composers  as  John  E. 
West,  George  C.  Martin,  and  Villiers  Stanford 
witness  to  the  fact  that  Church  music  is  very 
much  alive  in  England  to-day  and  that  the  ar- 
tistic quality  of  the  output  is  not  deteriorating. 
Along  with  the  tremendous  development  of 
modern  instrumental  music,  Church  music  is 
expanding  its  borders  and  drawing  upon  a 
wider  range  of  musical  material  for  its  expres- 
sion. More  and  more  demand  is  made  upon 
the  capacity  of  the  singers  and  the  skill  of  the 
organist.  The  organ  is  no  longer  a  mere  support 
to  the  voices,  but  it  is  treated  independently  and 


AXGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  251 

vies  in  importance  with  the  choral  parts.    Com-  importance 

.         »  .  -.  .  1  of  organ 

posers  strive  for  variety  of  expression  and  an  part. 

avoidance  of  the  old  melodic  and  harmonic 
formulas.  In  their  desire  for  originality  they 
not  infrequently  overstep  the  mark  and  write 
music  that  is  essentially  unvocal.  There  is  a 
disposition  among  the  more  advanced  writers  to 
treat  voices  like  the  wood-wind  instruments  of 
the  orchestra,  with  doublings  and  criss-crossings 
of  the  parts.  Sometimes  it  is  effective  and 
sometimes  it  is  not.  With  the  multiplication 
of  musical  festivals,  the  orchestra  is  used  more 
and  more,  and  with  it  comes  the  temptation  to 
exploit  the  instruments  rather  than  the  voices. 
But  with  all  this  exploitation  and  experiment 
there  is  a  distinct  gain  and  without  it  music  as 
an  art  would  surely  retrograde. 

For  some  years  many  composers  have  been  Limitations 
under  the   impression,   if  not   the   conviction,  muric.'** 
that  all  the  possibilities  in  the  way  of  choral 
expression  have  long  since  been  exhausted,  and 
the   most   one   can   hope   for   is   to   equal   the 
efforts  of  some  great  master  of  choral  writing 
like  Bach,  Handel,  or  Mendelssohn.     But  ge- 
nius delights  in  upsetting  fixed  conclusions  and 
Edward  Elgar  and  his  followers  have  certainly  Edward 
extended  the  field  of  choral  effects  if  they  have   (i857— ). 
not  actually  created  new  ones.     Elgar,  in  his 
large  sacred  works,  has  discarded  the  oratorio 
form  with  its  distinct  divisions  into  choruses. 


252  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

concerted  numbers,  and  solos,  and  has  adopted 
instead  the  Wagnerian  principle  of  continuous 
movement.  His  one  idea  is  the  enhancement 
of  the  meaning  of  the  text  by  every  device 
known  to  modern  music.  His  "Dream  of  Ger- 
ontius"  and  more  especially  his  "Apostles"  and 
"The  Kingdom"  are  in  reality  religious  propa- 
ganda and  must  be  accepted  as  such  if  one  is  to 
comprehend  their  full  import.  Elgar's  methods 
place  his  sacred  music  beyond  any  suspicion  of 
concert  purposes  and  elevate  it  to  the  higher 
plane  of  a  moral  and  religious  force. 

Church  We  are  also  making  progress  in  America. 

America.  A  half  century  ago,  in  the  days  of  the  quartette 
choir,  arrangements  from  secular  and  some- 
times from  operatic  sources  prevailed.  Orig- 
inal compositions  were  weak  and  poor  indeed, 
being  a  mixture  of  mawkish  sentimentality  and 

Dudley  blatant  noise.     Dudley  Buck  was  the  first  and 

(1839-  almost  the  only  American  composer  of  promi- 

nence who  wrote  especially  for  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Most  of  his  music  was  intended  for 
the  quartette  choir  and  it  was  a  marked  advance 
on  anything  which  had  preceded  it.  Buck's  mu- 
sic, while  melodious  and  effective,  is  however, 
far  removed  from  the  English  standards,  being 
less  dignified  and  more  emotional — its  too  fre- 
quent cadences  giving  somewhat  of  a  patch- 
work effect.  His  conception  of  the  text  is  apt 
to  be  over-sentimental  and  his  musical  expres- 


ANGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  253 

sion  of  it  too  literal.  The  historic  canticles 
of  the  Church  should  have  breadth  and  dignity 
as  their  prevailing  keynote,  and  anthem  texts 
taken  from  the  Scriptures  should  have  in  their 
musical  garb  the  same  high  qualities  that  they 
have  as  literature.  However,  Buck  stood  more 
nearly  for  a  distinctive  style  of  American 
Church  music  than  any  other  composer  and  his 
later  works  evinced  a  far  higher  standard  of 
attainment  than  his  early  efforts.  The  best  of 
them  will  deservedly  remain  upon  our  choir 
programs  for  many  years  to  come. 

It  is  only  in  quite  recent  years  that  we  have 
developed  Church  composers  of  sufficient  abil- 
ity to  compare  them  favorably  with  their  Eng- 
lish contemporaries.     Foremost  among  these  is 
Dr.  Horatio  Parker,  whom  Yale  has  honored  Horatio 
with   its   Chair   of   Music,    and   who   in   turn   f*|||'_), 
honors  Yale  by  his  pronounced  musical  gifts. 
Parker's    oratorios    and    sacred    cantatas    rank 
among  the  most  important  productions  of  their 
kind  composed  in  recent  years.     They  are  most 
highly  regarded  in  England  and  his  "Hora  I^o-  Regarded 
vissima,"  as  well  as  other  works,  have  been  pro-   England, 
duced  at  the  great  music  festivals  held  in  that 
country.     Cambridge  has  conferred  upon  him 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Music,  the 
first  instance,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  that 
this  signal  honor  has  been  conferred  upon  an 
American  composer.     Dr.  Parker  brings  to  his 


254 


MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Character- 
istics. 


Other 

American 

composers. 


Average  of 

attainments 

improving. 


Postering 
care  of  the 
Church  of 
England. 


work  ripe  musicianship,  a  fertile  and  inventive 
imagination,  and  in  addition  a  penetrating  in- 
sight into  literary  values  that  is  all  too  rare. 
In  addition  to  his  larger  works  he  has  written 
anthems  and  service  numbers,  which  are  all 
marked  by  the  same  fine  qualities  of  force, 
dignity,  and  distinctive  personality.  He  always 
has  something  of  importance  to  say  and  says  it 
well.  His  compositions  easily  represeait  the 
high-water  mark  of  American  attainments  in 
the  field  of  Church  music,  and  we,  as  a  nation, 
may  take  a  just  pride  in  them.  We  are  also 
indebted  to  Dr.  Parker  for  his  gifts  as  a  teacher 
and  his  efforts  in  this  direction  have  brought 
forth  most  excellent  fruit. 

Arthur  Foote,  George  W.  Chadwick,  and 
other  prominent  American  composers  have 
written  much  excellent  Church  music,  but  it 
has  not  been  especially  associated  with  the 
Episcopal  Church.  The  list  of  all  those  who 
are  doing  good  and  creditable  work  is  too  long 
to  mention.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  average 
of  attainment  is  slowly  improving  and  that  the 
prospect  for  the  future  of  Church  music  in 
America  is  at  least  encouraging. 

The  preeminence  of  the  English  school  of 
Church  music  is  the  direct  result  of  centuries 
spent  in  systematic  efforts  to  foster  and  im- 
prove religious  art.  Art  in  any  of  its  forms 
cannot  flourish  without  congenial  environment, 


Churcli. 


AXGLICAN  CHURCH  MUSIC  255 

positive  ideals,  and  a  stimulating  atmosphere. 
It  is  of  slow  growth  and  attaches  itself  only  to 
permanent  institutions  or  conditions.  Archi- 
tecture, sculpture,  painting,  and  music  all  owe 
their  development  to  the  ancient,  historic 
Churches,  and  the  great  masterpieces  of  eccle- 
siastical art  have  been  wrought  out  under  stress 
of  religious  faith  and  zeal. 

If  sacred  art  is  to  flourish  in  America  it  will  Responsibii- 
only  develop  under  the  active  and  coherent  ef-  American 
forts  of  the  Church.  The  growth  and  expan- 
sion of  art,  particularly  music,  has  been  tre- 
mendous in  recent  years,  but  composers  have 
turned  mainly  to  ancient  sagas,  folk-lore,  the 
drama,  poetry,  realism,  and  idealism  for  their 
inspiration.  But  after  all,  that  which  most 
deeply  stirs  the  souls  of  men  are  the  things 
which  concern  life  and  death.  Faith  in  the 
Creator,  the  hope  of  heaven,  the  dread  of  hell 
and  an  abiding  realization  of  what  the  tragedy 
on  Calvary  has  signified  to  a  sinful  world: 
these  have  been  the  compelling  factors  which 
have  given  us  our  very  greatest  art  products. 
The  mountain  peaks  of  musical  endeavor  are 
still  the  "Messiah''  of  Handel,  the  monumental 
masses  of  Bach  and  Beethoven,  the  ''Kequiem" 
of  Mozart,  the  "Elijah"  of  Mendelssohn,  and 
the  "German  Requiem"  of  Brahms,  i^o  operas, 
no  secular  cantatas  approach  them  in  sublimity 
or  beauty.     The  highest  manifestations  of  art 


256  MUSIC  IN  THE  CHURCH 

must  perforce  have  to  do  with  the  most  vital 
things  of  life. 
An  American         While    certain    of    our    lifted    American 

school  of  <=  ^ 

Church  Church  composers  have  given  us  works  of  dis- 

tinction and  well-defined  personality,  they  can 
scarcely  be  credited  with  the  creation  of  an 
American  school  of  Church  music.  It  is  ex- 
tremely doubtful  if  such  a  school  can  ever  arise, 
for  the  causes  which  result  in  strongly  differen- 
tiated types  of  music  are  rapidly  disappearing. 
Such  types  are  dependent  upon  isolation,  differ- 
ing habits,  traditions,  forms  of  worship,  and 
mental  concepts  of  religion.  With  the  mani- 
fold means  of  intercommunication  of  modern 
life,  which  increase  every  day,  the  nations 
are  growing  closer  and  closer,  and  distinctive 
characteristics  are  fast  losing  their  identity. 
The  Church  music  of  the  future  would  seem  to 
be  a  composite  of  many  styles  and  many  in- 
fluences. Let  us  hope  it  will  be  a  survival  of 
the  fittest — a  composite  of  the  splendid  plain- 
song  of  the  early  Church,  the  masterly  poly- 
phony of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  classic  dignity  of 
the  English  Cathedral  style,  plus  the  richness 
and  fulness  of  modern  art. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  257 


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INDEX  OF  TUNES 

Adeste  Fidelis,  "O  come,  all  ye  faithful,"  24,  97. 
Adoeo  Te,  "Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  God,  my  all,"  38. 
Alford^  "Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,"  31. 
Alleluia     Perenxe,     "Sing     Alleluia     forth     In     duteous 

praise,"  31. 
All  Saixts,  "The  saints  of  God !  their  conflict  past,"  41. 
America^  "Our  fathers'  God  !  to  Thee,"  24. 
Ancient  of  Days^  45. 

Angels  of  Jesus,  "Hark !  hark  my  soul,"  37. 
Angel  Voices,  "Angel  voices,  ever  singing,"  42. 
Ascension,  "Hail  the  day  that  sees  Him  rise,"  30. 
Attole  Paulum,  "Across  the  sky  the  shades  of  night,"  16. 
AuBURNDALE,    "Christ    is   our   Cornerstone,"    45. 
AuGHTON,  "He  leadeth  me,"  43. 
Augsburg,  18. 

AuRELiA,  "The  Church's  one  foundation,"  26. 
Austria,  "Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken,"  20. 
Barnbt,  "Come  hither,  ye  faithful,"  37. 
Beati,  "The  saints  of  God  !  their  conflict  past,"  40. 
Benediction,     "Saviour,     again     to     Thy     dear     Name     we 

raise,"  27. 
Bethany,   "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"   43. 
Blessed  Home,  "There  is  a  blessed  home,"  40. 
Brannenburg,  "More  love  to  Thee,  O  Christ,"  46. 
Bremen,  18. 

Bristol,  "'Hark  !  the  glad  sound,"  47. 
Bude,  "Thou,  Who  with  dying  lips,"  46. 
Calkin,  "O  Father,  bless  Thy  children,"   42. 
Camden,  "Fling  out  the  banner,"  42. 
Charity,  "Gracious  Spirit,  Holy  Ghost,"  40. 
Chester,  71. 

Cloisters,  "Lord  of  our  Life,"  38. 
CoENi    Domini,    "Draw    nigh    and    take    the    Body    of    the 

Lord,"  42. 
Contrition,  "O  the  bitter  shame  and  sorrow,"  41. 
CoRONAE,  "Look,  ye  saints,  the  sight  is  glorious,"  31. 
CoRDE  Natus,  10. 

Coronation,  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  Name,"  71. 
Courage,  "Fight  the  good  fight,"  45. 
Cross  of  Jesus,  "In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I  glory,"  40. 
Darwall,  "In  loud,  exalted  strains,"  25. 
Decius,  16. 


266  mDEX  OF  TUNES 

Dies  Irab,  "Day  of  wrath!  O  Day  of  mourning,"  32. 

Dix,  "As  with  gladness  men  of  old,"  20. 

DoANE,  "Fling  out  the  banner,"  42. 

Dundee,  "O  God  of  Bethel,  by  Whose  hand,"  21. 

Dundy,  21. 

DoMiNUS  Regit  Me,  "The  King  of  love  my  Shepherd  is,"  31. 

Easter  Hymn,  "Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to-day,"  30. 

EccB  Agnus,  10. 

Ein'  Feste  Burg,  "A  mountain  fastness  is  our  God,"  13, 
14,   100. 

Ellacombb,  "Come,  praise  your  Lord  and  Saviour,"  19. 

ElLers,  "Saviour,  again  to  Thy  dear  Name  we  raise,"   28. 

EucHARiSTic  Hymn,  "Bread  of  the  world,"  47. 

Evening  Hymn,  "All  praise  to  Thee,  my  God,  this  night," 
22,  23. 

Eventide,  "Abide  with  me,"  30. 

Ewing,  "Jerusalem,  the  golden,"  26,  98,  194. 

Fife,   "O  perfect   love,"   37. 

Foundation,  "How  firm  a  foundation,"  44. 

Franconia,  "Stand,  soldier  of  the  Cross,"  19. 

French,  21. 

French  Dundee,  21. 

Grace  Church,  "O  Thou,  to  Whose  all-searching  sight,"  20. 

Hamburg,   "My  God,  permit  me  not  to  be,"   43. 

Hanford,  "Jesus,  my  Saviour,  look  on  me,"  42. 

Hanover,  "O  worship  the  King,"  21. 

Heinlein,  "Forty  days  and  forty  nights,"   18. 

Hernnhut,  "Wake,  awake,  for  night  is  flying,"  16. 

Hodges,  "O  day  of  rest  and  gladness,"  47. 

HoLLiNGSiDE,  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul,"  30. 

Holy  Day,  "Lord,  lead  the  way  the  Saviour  went,"  44. 

Holy  Trinity,  "Lord,  lead  the  way  the  Saviour  went,"  37. 

HuRSLEY,  "Sun  of  my  soul,"  19. 

Jesu  Pastor,  "Jesus,  tender  shepherd,  hear  me,"  46. 

Jordan,  "O  God,  in  Whose  all-searching  eye,"  37. 

King  of  Glory,  "In  loud,  exalted  strains,"  45. 

Laudes  Domini,  "When  morning  gilds  the  skies,"  38. 

Leoni,  "The  God  of  Abram  praise,"  5. 

Luther's  Hymn,  "Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear,"  15. 

Lux  Benigna,  "Lead,  kindly  Light,"  32,  92. 

Lux  Eoi,  "Alleluia !  Alleluia !  hearts  and  voices  heaven- 
ward raise,"   41. 

Lyons,  "How  wondrous  and  great,"  19. 

Magdalena,  "I  could  not  do  without  Thee,"  41. 

Marion,  "Rejoice  ye  pure  in  heart,"  47. 

Mar  Saba,  "Now  the  laborers'  task  is  o'er,"   37. 

Meinhold,  "Tender  Shepherd,  Thou  hast  stilled,"  19. 

Melcombe,   "New   every   morning   is   the   love,"    25. 

Melita,  "Eternal  Father,  strong  to  save,"  32. 

Merrial,   "Now  the  day   is  over,"   38,   92. 

Mendelssohn,  "Hark  !  the  herald  angels  sing,"  97. 


INDEX  OF  TUNES  267 

MissioxAKY  HtmNj  "From  Greenland's  icy  mountains,"   43. 

Morning  Hymn,  "Awalie,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun,"  25. 

Mount  Sion,  "O  'twas  a  joyful  sound,"  45. 

MOBTRAM,  25. 

Munich,  "O  Word  of  God  incarnate,"  19. 

Nachtlied,  "The  day  is  gently  sinking  to  a  close,"  26. 

Neumaek,  18. 

NicEA,  "Holy,  Holy,   Holy,   Lord  God  Almighty,"   31. 

Norwich,  21. 

Nun  Danket,  "Now  thank  we  all  our  God,"  17. 

NuTFiELD,  "God  that  madest  earth  and  heaven,"  30. 

O  Bona  Patria,  "For  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country,"  41. 

O    FiLLII    ET    FiLLIAE,    10. 

Old  Hundred,  "With  one  consent  let  all  the  earth,"  63,  69. 

OmvET,  "My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee,"  43. 

Olmutz,  "Ye  servants  of  the  Lord,"   43. 

O  Quanta  Qualia,  9,  91. 

Oxford,  "Lord,  a  Saviour's  love  displaying,"  40. 

Pange  Lingua,  10. 

Paradise,  "O  Paradise,  O  Paradise,"  36,  92. 

Passion  Chorale,  "O  sacred  Head  surrounded,"  13,  16. 

Pilgrims,  "Hark !  hark,   my  soul !"   26. 

Pleyel,  "Children  of  the  heavenly  King,"  20. 

Portuguese  Hymn,  24. 

Pro  Patri,  "God  of  our  fathers,  whose  almighty  hand,"  44. 

Ratisbon,  "Bread  of  heaven,  on  Thee  we  feed,  18. 

Redhead,  47,  "When  our  heads  are  bowed  with  woe,"  28. 

Redhead,  76,  "Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me,"  28. 

Regent  Square,  "Christ  is  made  the  sure  foundation,"   26. 

Rest,  "The  Saints  of  God  !  their  conflict  past,"  41. 

St.  Agnes,  "Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night,"  31. 

St.  Albinus,  "Jesus  lives  !  Thy  terrors  now,"   26. 

St.  Alphege,  "Brief  life  is  here  our  portion,"  26. 

St.  Andrew,  "The  Cross  is  on  our  brow,"  37. 

St.    Andrew    of    Crete,    "Christian,    dost   thou    see    them," 

32,   94. 
St.  Anselm,  "O  One  with  God  the  Father,"  37. 
St.  Anne,  "O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past,"  20,  24,  239. 
St.   Athanasius,  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Lord,"  28. 
St.  Bees,  "Jesus !  Name  of  wondrous  love,"  31. 
St.  Cross,  "O  come  and  mourn  with  me  awhile,"  31. 
St.   Chrysostom,  38. 

St.  Cuthbert,  "Our  blest  Redeemer,  ere  He  breathed,"  31. 
St.  Drostane,  "Ride  on,  ride  on  in  majesty,"  31. 
St.  Edmund,   "Nearer,   my   God,   to   Thee,"   41. 
St.  Flavian,  "Lord,  who  throughout  these  forty  years,"  23. 
St.  Gertrude,  "Onward,  Christian  soldiers,"  42. 
St.  George,  "Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  26. 
St.  John,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !"   32. 
St.     John,     Westminster,     "According     to     Thy     gracious 

word,"  25. 


268  INDEX  OF  TUNES 

St.  Kevin,   "Come,  ye  faithful,   raise  the  strain,"   42. 

St.     Martin,    "While    shepherds    watched    their    flocks    by 

night,"   23. 
St.  Matthias,  "Sweet  Saviour,  bless  us  ere  we  go,"  30. 
St.  Oswald,  "Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah,"  31. 
St.  Sylvester,  "Days  and  moments  quickly  flying,"  32. 
St.  Theodulph,  "All  glory,  laud,  and  honour,"  17,  93. 
St.   Thomas,   "Lo  !   He   comes  with   clouds   descending,"   25. 
Salzburg,  "At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we  sing,"   17. 
Samuel,  "Hushed  was  the  evening  hymn,"  42. 
Sandringham,  "O  perfect  love,"  37. 
Sardis,  "Light  of  those  whose  dreary  dwelling,"  44. 
Sarum,  "For  all  the  saints,"  37,  94. 
Sefton,  "Lift  up  your  heads,"  42. 
Stella,  "All  my  heart  this  night  rejoices,"  46. 
Stettin,  16. 
Stockport,  25. 

Stuttgart,  "Come,  Thou  long-expected  Jesus,"   19. 
Swabia,  "This  is  the  day  of  light,"  19. 

Tallis'  Canon,  "All  praise  to  Thee,  my  God  this  night,"  22. 
Tallis'  Hymn,  "All  praise  to  Thee,  my  God  this  night,"  22. 
Tallis^  Ordinal,  "In  token  that  thou  shalt  not  fear,"  23. 
The  Good  Fight,  "We  march,  we  march  to  victory,"  40. 
Truro,  "Arm  of  the  Lord,  awake,"  25. 
Ultor-Omnipotens,  "God  the  All-merciful,"  41. 
Undi   et   Memores,    "And   now,    O   Father,   mindful    of   the 

love,"  30. 
University  College,  "Oft  in  danger,  oft  in  woe,"  26. 
Veni  Creator,  "Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire,"  9,  91. 
Veni  Emmanuel,  "O  come,  O  come,  Emmanuel,"  8,  90. 
Vesper,   "Holy   Father,   cheer   our   way,"    40. 
Victory,   "The  strife  is  o'er,"   10,  98. 
Vox  Sterna,  "Hark  !  the  Voice  eternal,"  45. 
Vox  DiLECTi,  "I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say,"  32,  94. 
Waltham,   "Fling  out  the  banner,"   42. 

Westminster,  "Lord,  in  Thy  Name  Thy  servants  plead,"  25. 
Winchester  New,  "On  Jordan's  bank  the  Baptist's  cry,"  19. 
Winchester  Old,  "When  all  Thy  mercies,  O  my  God,"  23,  24. 
Windsor,  69. 

WoRGAN,  "Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to-day,"  19,  98. 
York,   69. 

Yorkshire,  "Christians  awake,  salute  the  happy  morn,"  25. 
Zephyr,  "With  broken  heart  and  contrite  sigh."  43. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Accompaniment  of  Church 
service,  163  ;  of  Gregor- 
ians,  164 ;  of  hymns, 
165  ;  of  anthems,  168  ; 
importance  of,   168. 

American  Church  Music,  256. 

Anthem,  The  Full,  235;  the 
Verse,   236. 

Antiphonarium,   222. 

Articled  pupil,  152. 

Attwood,  Thomas,  243. 

Bach,  Johann  Sebastian,  12, 
14,  17,  19. 

Baker,    Henry   W.,   31. 

Balzac,  Honors  de,  146. 

Barnby,  Joseph,  33  et  seq. 
52,   248. 

Barthelemon,  Fracois  H.,  25. 

Bennett,   W.    Sterndale,   247. 

Berkeley,  Bishop,  119. 

Bernard  of  Cluny,  26. 

Billings,  William,  70,  71. 

Blow,  John,  24,  235,  236 
et   seq. 

Boyce,  William,  241,  245. 

Bradbury,  William  B.,  43. 

Brattle,  Thomas,  118. 

Buck,   Dudley,   252. 

Buckoll,  H.  J.,  14. 

Burney,    Charles,    25. 

Byrd,  William,  230,  234. 

Calkin,   J.   Baptiste,  42. 

Calvin,    John,    63. 

Canon,  22. 

Carey,   Henry,   24. 

Cathedral  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul,  Chicago,  choir  his- 
tory OP,  192  et  seq. 

Cathedral  system  of  Eng- 
land,  153,  186. 

Cathedral  services  as  models, 
187. 

Chadwick,  George  W.,  254. 


Chandos,  Duke  of,  240. 

Chanting  of  psalter  78 ;  of 
canticles,  81. 

Charles  I.,  232. 

Charles  II.,  23,  234. 

Child,  William,  234. 

Choirmasters,  174  et  seq. 

Choirs,  American  Vested 
male,  157,  176,  177,  184 
et  seq.;  203  et  seq.; 
historical  sketch  of. 
East,  189 ;  West,  191 ; 
spread  of,  203 ;  litera- 
ture on,   216. 

Choirs,  advantages  of  female 
voices,  204  ;  mixed,  205  ; 
girl,  205  ;  quartette,  206. 

Choir  schools,  English,  186; 
necessity  of,  188  ;  Ameri- 
can, 210  et  seq.;  expense 
of,   215. 

Choral  Celebration,  169. 

Choral  Responses,  79. 

Chorales,  German,  11  et  seq., 
62,  100. 

Church  Clubs,  action  of,  180. 

Church  music,  early  Chris- 
tian, 58 ;  in  England, 
224  ;  decline  of  239,  242  ; 
rise  of,  247 ;  modern 
tendencies,  250 ;  in 
America,  252. 

Claudian,   104. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,   59. 

Clergy,  guidance  of,  85 ; 
musical  education  of, 
180. 

Commonwealth,  disorders  of, 
112,   232. 

Congregational  singing,  54, 
75  et  seq.;  In  the  Ro- 
man    Church,     59 ;     in 


270 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Germany,  61,  95 ;  de- 
vices to  promote,  88. 

Cook,  Captain  Henry,  235, 
237. 

Contrapuntal  music,  227. 

Cranmer,  Archbishop,  225. 

Croft,  William,  20,  239. 

Criiger,    Johann,    17. 

Curwen,  J.   Spencer,  38. 

Dabblers,  amateur,  48  ;  pro- 
fessional, 49. 

Darwall,    Rev.    John,    25. 

Davey,  Henry,  229. 

Day,  John,  227. 

Development  of  music  in  the 
Anglican  Church,  224 
et  seg. 

Decius,  Nicolaus,  16. 

Diocesan  school  for  Church 
music,  158. 

Dorset,  Rev.  Canon  C.  P.,  194. 

Duffield,  Rev.  Howard,  159. 

Dykes,  Rev.  John  B.,  28,  31, 
33,  36,  52. 

Edward  VI.,  liturgy  of,  225. 

Elgar,   Edward,   251. 

Elvey,  George  J.,  247. 

Ely  Confession,  80. 

Ewing,  Alexander,  26. 

Foote,  Arthur,  254. 

Farrant,  Richard,  230. 

Frederick  the  Great,  15. 

Gauntlett,  Henry  J.,  26,  52. 

Gibbon,  Edward,  59. 

Gibbons,  Orlando,  231,  235, 
238. 

Gloria  in  Exceisis,  82. 

Goss,  John,  247,  249. 

Greek  modes  or  scales,  6,  221. 

Gregorian  chants,  202,  221. 

Greene,  Maurice,   241. 

Guilmant,   Alexandre,   146. 

Hallel,  60. 

Handel,  George  Frederick, 
239,   244. 

Harmonized  confessions  and 
creeds,  80. 

Harwood,  Basil,  226. 

Hassler,  Hans  Leo,  16. 

Hawkins'  History  of  Music, 
106. 


Haydn,  Franz  Joseph,  19. 

Hebrew  music,  choral,  54 ; 
instrumental,  55  ;  char- 
acter of,  57. 

Hedge,  Dr.  F.  H.,  15. 

Hodges,  ECward,  47,  120, 
189,   212. 

Hodges,  Rev.  J.  S.  B.,  47, 
212. 

Holden,   Oliver,   71. 

Hopkins,  Edward,  J.  27,  28. 

Hughes,  John  L.,  202. 

Humphreys,  Pelham,  235, 
237. 

Hymnal,  Protestant  Episco- 
pal,   75  ;    Methodist,   87. 

Hymnody,   History   of,   54. 

Hymn  playing,  art  of,  165 ; 
practical   hints  on,   167. 

Hymns,  early  Latin,  medie- 
val Latin,  61,  Lutheran 
62. 

Hymn  singing,  a  source  of 
heresy,  59  ;  In  England, 
68  ;  of  Wesleyans,  68  ; 
in  America,  74  ;  how  to 
secure  good,  83  ;  variety 
in,  92  ;  in  Germany,  95  ; 
best  in  England,  96; 
bond  of  unity,  99. 

Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern, 
10,  29,  75. 

Hymn  tunes.  Importance  of, 
1  ;  choice  of,  2,  88,  98  ; 
responsibility  for,  3 ; 
early  English,  20,  91 ; 
modern  English,  25 ; 
American,  42 ;  composi- 
tion of,  47 ;  essentials 
of,  50  ;  early  American, 
70  ;  fuguing,  70  ;  tempo 
of,  94,  96 ;  advantages 
of  traditional,  97. 

Improvisation,   art   of,   169. 

Julian,  the  Apostate,  105. 

Klug,  Joseph,  15. 

Kyrie,  twelfth  century,   7. 

Knowles,  Rev.  Canon  J.  H., 
194,  202,  212. 

Lemare,  E.  H.,  117,  118,  144. 

"Lining   out,"    66. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


271 


Lowe,  Edward,  233,  235. 
Lulli,  Jean  B.  235. 
Luther,  Martin,  12,  13,  62. 
Lyra  Sacra  Ameriana,  35. 
Lyric  semitone,  109. 
MacDowell,    Gerald   R.,    191. 
Macfarren,    George    A.,    247. 
Machin,  (?)  191. 
Mason,  Lowell,  42. 
Mason,  Rev.  Wm.,  240. 
McLaren,  Bishop,  199. 
Melismas,   223. 
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,     Fe- 
lix,   15,    16,    17,    19,   97, 
244,  246. 
Merbecke,  John,  225. 
Messiter,  Arthur  H.,  47,  189. 
Meyerbeer,  Giacomo,  15. 
Monk,  William  H.,  29,  36. 
Mozart,   Wolfgang   Amadeus, 

244. 
Mozart,    (?)    192. 
Musical     Ministries     in     the 

Church,  51. 
Neumark,  George,   17. 
Nicolai,  Rev.  Philipp,  16. 
Novello,  Vincent,  24,  237. 
Organ  builders : 

Audsley,   G.   A.,   130. 

Austin  Organ  Co.,  124. 

Barker,    Charles    S.,    115. 

Bennett  Organ  Co.,  125. 

Bromfleld,  Edward,  119. 

Casavant  Bros.,  118. 

Cavaille-Coll,  117. 

Clark,  Somers,  129. 

Clemm,  John,  119. 

Ducroquet,  M.,  115. 

Dudyngton,  Antony,   111. 

Erben,  Henry,  120. 

Faber,  Nicolaus,  109. 

Gabler,  Johann,  117. 

Harris,  Renatus,  113. 

Hill  &  Son,  116,  126. 

Hope-Jones  Organ  Co.,  117, 
124. 

Hook  &  Hastings,  121. 

Hutchings  Organ  Co.,  123. 

Hutchings-Totey  Co.,  123. 

Jardine  &  Son,  121. 

Johnson  &  Son,  122. 


Organ  Builders. — Continued. 

Kimball  Co.,  W.  W.,  125. 

Los     Angeles     Art     Organ 
Co.,   126. 

Lyon  &  Healey,  125. 

Merklin,  117. 

Mooser,  117. 

Miiller,   Christian,   117. 

Norman  &  Beard,  116. 

Roosevelt,      Hilborne      L., 
122,   126. 

Roosevelt,   Frank,   123. 

Schmidt,  Bernard,  113. 

Schulze  &  Sons,  115. 

Silbermann,   Andreas,   117, 
119. 

Skinner    Co.,     Ernest     M., 
124. 

Smith    Father,    113,    241, 
244. 

Snetzler,    John,    114,    120. 

Votey   Organ   Co.,   123. 

Walcker,  122. 

Walker  &  Co.,  T.   C,  116. 

Walker  &  Son,  117. 

Willis   Henry,   116,   126. 
Organist     and     choirmaster, 

148. 
Organists,  good  musicians, 
148 ;  education  of,  152 
et  seq. ;  irreligion  of, 
156 ;  dearth  of  good, 
157 ;  responsibility  of, 
158 ;  hints  to,  170  ;  re- 
lation of  priests  and, 
172 ;  poor  voice  train- 
ers, 175 ;  subject  to 
choirmaster,  179. 
Organ     playing,     importance 

of,  156. 
Organs,  history  and  struc- 
ture of,  101  ;  origin  of, 
102 ;  hydraulic,  104  ; 
early  types,  105,  106 ; 
Great  and  Choir,  108 ; 
first  key-board,  108 ; 
portative  and  positive, 
109 ;  introduction  of 
sharps  and  flats,  109  ; 
first  pedal  keyboard, 
110 ;      development      of 


272 


GENERAL  INDEX 


stop  control,  110 ;  first 
swell,  114  ;  combination 
pedals,  114 ;  pneumatic 
action.  French,  German 
and  English,  116;  first 
American,  118,  119 ; 
electric  action,  123,  143  ; 
largest,  126,  tracker  ac- 
tion, 143  ;  mechanical 
appliances,  144 ;  criti- 
cism of  American,  144. 
Organs,  purchase  of,  loca- 
tion and  selection  of, 
129  et  seq.;  cost,  135, 
136 ;  specification  of 
small  organ,  138  ;  dura- 
bility of  good  organs, 
139  ;  care  of,  140. 
Organs,  use  of,  aids  congre- 
gational singing,  128 ; 
essentially  for  Church 
use,  128,  251  ;  registra- 
tion, 171. 
Organ  Voluntaries,  159. 
Organs  mentioned  : 

Albany,   N.   Y.,    Cathedral, 

124. 
Boston,       Mass.,        King's 
Chapel,   118. 
Music  Hall,  122. 
Tremont  Temple,  121. 
Chicago,    111.,    Auditorium, 
126. 
Columbian      Exposition, 
123. 
Cincinnati,     Ohio,      Music 

Hall,    121. 
Freiburg,    Switzerland,   St. 

Nicholas,  117. 
Garden  City,  L.  I.,  Cathe- 
dral, 127. 
Haarlem,  Holland,  117. 
Libau,  Russia,  127. 
London,  England,  All  Hal- 
lows, Barking,  111. 
Banqueting  Room,  White- 
hall,  113. 
Royal  Albert,  Hall,  126. 
St.      raul's      Cathedral, 

116. 
St.      Margaret's,      West- 
minster, 117. 


Organs    mentioned,    London. 
— Continued. 
Southwark        Cathedral, 

116. 
Temple  Church,  113. 
Westminster  Abbey,  116. 

Magdeburg,  Prussia,  Cathe- 
dral, 108. 

Manchester,  Eng.,  Town 
Hall,  117. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  Trinity, 
119. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  Wool- 
sey  Hall,  Yale  Uni- 
versity,  123. 

New  York,   N.   Y.,   College 
of    the    City    of    New 
York,  124. 
St.  Bartholomew,  127. 
Trinity,   119. 

Norwich,  England,  Cathe- 
dral, 116. 

Ocean  Grove,  N.  J.,  Audi- 
torium, 125. 

Paris,  France,  Notre  Dame, 
117. 
Saint  Sulpice,  117. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Centen- 
nial Exposition,  123. 

Riga,  Russia,  127. 

St.  Denis,  France,  Abbey 
Church,  115. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Louisiana 
Purchase  Exposition, 
126. 

Salisbury,  England,  Cathe- 
dral, 113. 

Sheffield,  England,  Town 
Hall,  117. 

Sidney,  N.  S.  W.,  Town 
Hall,  126. 

Strasbourg,  Germany, 
Cathedral,  117. 

Ulm,  Germany,  Cathedral, 
117. 

Weingarten,  Germany, 
Monastery,    117. 

Winchester,  England,  Ca- 
thedral, 107. 

Worcester,  England,  Cathe- 
dral, 117. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


273 


Organs    mentioned. — Contin- 
ued. 
York,     England,     Minster, 
112. 
Organ  voluntaries,  159. 
Palestrina,  10,  242. 
Parker,  Horatio,  43,  253. 
Perieleses,  6. 
Peregrine  Tone,  60. 
Pilclier,  Henry,  201. 
Pipes,    Pandean,    102 ;    Clii- 
nese,   Egyptian,   Peru- 
vian, Roumanian,  103. 
Pipes,      organ,      open      and 
stopped,  136  ;  reed,  137. 
Plainsong,  origin  of  4,  220  ; 
characteristics    of    5    et 
seq.,  223  ;  popularity  of, 

10  ;  an  artistic  product, 
220;  in  England,  224; 
Cranmer's  Litany,  Sar- 
um  "Use,"  225. 

Plainsong  tunes,  4,  90. 

Playford's  Tunes,  68,  72. 

Pleyel,  Ignaz  J.,  20. 

Pneumae,  224. 

Prague  Choral  Society,  62. 

Pratt,  Waldo  S.,  51. 

Precentor,  206. 

Psalms  in  Metre,  Genevan 
Psalter,  63 ;  Sternhold 
and  Hopkins,  64 ;  Rous 
and  Watts,  65 ;  Ains- 
worth,  66 ;  Bay  Psalm- 
book  (New  England  Ver- 
sion)   66. 

Psalm  singing,  of  Calvinists, 
63 ;  of  Puritans  and 
Scotch  Presbyterians, 
64;  of  the  Established 
Church,  64  ;  early  tunes, 
67 ;  decline  of  67 ;  in 
America,   69  et  seq. 

Purcell,   Henry,   236. 

Ravenscroft,  Thomas,  68,  72. 

Reading,  John,  24. 

Redhead,  Richard,  28. 

Reformation,  the  changes  of, 

11  ;  music  of,  12,  61. 
Ryenolds,  C.  E.,  202. 


Rhythm,   the   soul   of  music, 

170. 
Ritchie,  Father,  201. 
Roman     Church    music,     59, 

221. 
Rosenmiiller,  Johann,  17. 
Rowe  (?)  191. 
Rowlands,  W.  D.,  192. 
St.  Ambrose,  221. 
St.  Augustine,  60,  224. 
St.  Gall,  224. 
St.  Jerome.   105. 
St.  Sylvester,  224. 
Salaries,  181. 
Sarum  Use,  225  . 
Scotch  Psalter,  67. 
Sewall,  Judge,  69. 
Smart,  Henry,  26,  247, 
Smedley,  William,  202. 
Sparks,  William,  246. 
Stainer,    John,    40,    52,    85, 

239,  248,  249. 
Stanford,  C.  Villiers,   250. 
Sternhold   and    Hopkins,    64, 

65,  66,  67,  72. 
Sullivan,   Arthur,   S.,  23,  41, 

52,  250. 
Syrinx,  102. 
Tallis'     Responses,    79,    228, 

233. 
Tallis,  Thomas,  22,  228,  233, 

234,  238. 
Tate  and  Brady,  65,  68. 
Te  Deum,  61,  73. 
Temple  Music,  4,  55. 
Teschner,   Melchior,   17,  93. 
Tobey   (?)   193. 
Trinity    Parish,    New    York, 

72,    73,    119,    181,    189, 

211. 
Tuckey,  William,  73. 
Turle,  James,  25. 
Wainwright,  John,  25. 
Walmsley,  Thomas  A.,  244. 
Watts,  Isaac,  65,  70. 
Webbe,   Samuel,  25. 
Wesley,  Charles,  68,  244. 
Wesley,  Samuel,  245. 
Wesley,     Samuel     Sebastian, 

245. 


274  GENERAL  INDEX 

West,  John  E.,  250.  Wild,  Harrison  M.,  201. 

Whitehouse,  Bishop,  194, 198,  Williinson,    Rev.    John,    193. 

Whitehouse      W.      Fitzhugh,  Wulstan,  107. 
193. 


Music. 


Music  in  the  Church.  By  Peter  Chris- 
tian Lutkin.  Milwaukee:  Tlie  Young 
Churchman  Co.  $1  net. 
The  late  Charles  Reuben  Hale,  Bishop 
of  Cairo,  111.,  bequeathed  some  of  his 
estate  for  the  establishment,  endow- 
ment, publication,  and  due  circulation 
of  courses  of  lectures,  to  be  delivered 
annually,  forever,  to  be  called  the  Hale 
Lectures,  the  subject  of  these  lectures 
and  publications  being  liturgies,  church 
hymns,  and  church  music,  the  history  of 
eastern  and  national  churches,  and  con- 
temporaneous church  history.  Dr.  Lut- 
kin, whose  volume  includes  the  Hale 
Lectures  for  1908-9,  is  dean  of  the  school 
of  music  at  the  Northwestern  University 
in  Evanston,  111.  He  holds  that  educa- 
tion is  needed  for  congregations,  organ- 
ists, choirmasters,  theological  students, 
and,  he  fears,  for  the  ministers,  too,  ere 
the  music  in  our  churches  can  be  made 
what  it  should  be;  and  his  book  not 
only  proves  this  assertion  but  contains 
many  hints  as  to  how  the  needed  edu- 
cation may  best  be  provided.  The  table 
of  contents  includes  hymn  tunes,  con- 
gregational singing,  the  organ,  the  or- 
ganist, and  choirmaster,  the  vested  male 
choir,  and  the  development  of  music  in 
the  Anglican  church.  While  the  book  ad- 
dresses itself  primarily  to  those  concern- 
ed in  the  making  of  church  music,  the 
general  reader  is  also  kept  in  mind,  all 
technicalities  and  discussions  that  would 
interest  only  the  professional  musician 
having  been  excluded. 

The  author  relates  that  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  American  composers,  when  in- 
vited to  contribute  to  the  hymnal  of  a 


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>=  Tlie    JSTation. 

.,uman,  and  inasmuch  as  nobody  listens 
D  the  opening  and  closing  voluntaries, 
^  nd  set  organ  numbers  during  the  ser- 
""ice  are  becoming  more  and  more  the  ex- 
^sption,  they  must  have  their  chance 
^Dmewhere,  even  though  it  be  in  those 
Dlizzards  of  sound"  against  which  the 


ev.  Howard  Duffield  has  fulminated. 


Lirz+'s      "Danfp' 


